Return of the Ancient Ninjetti
by mykkila09
Summary: second in the Ninjetti series and the sequel to Someday...it starts after DT: when an ancient being from another world appears, the rangers have to suit up once again to defend their planet and their lives. can they stop nerian or will he be the one to finally defeat them?
1. Prologue

**A/N: **ok. Here it is. The sequel to Someday; I hope you guys like it.

* * *

It wasn't supposed to end like this; all around them, all that could be seen was chaos and destruction. The rangers were scattered over the ground, all of them in pain; some unconscious from it while the others tried not to move too much.

Kim raised her head and looked around at her friends; she could see how hurt they were and the defeat in their eyes. Her gaze swung back around when she heard laughter; she looked up and saw Nerian standing there.

"These are the ones that are supposed to destroy me?" Nerian laughed. "Pathetic; I am powerful than most and I will take great pleasure in ridding the world of the Power Rangers once and for all."

His attack on the rangers had been swift; but they hadn't given up. They had done what they did best and that was fight. They were rangers and it was their duty to protect their planet and the people that lived there. They'd spent just over a decade defending it from villains like him, but even they had to admit that he was different from the others; he was stronger, faster and older. He had knowledge on his side and the power to back it up.

"What are we going to do?" Aisha groaned from her spot a few feet from Kim. "He's too powerful….more powerful than anyone we've ever faced."

"We can't let him win," Kim said; though she had no idea what they were going to do.

"There has to be something we can do," Jason said as he shifted to his knees.

Kim looked over at him before her gaze found the others before settling on Tommy; she saw the passion in his eyes and the desperation to stop Nerian before he destroyed everything. The two locked gaze, their eyes communicating their love to each other. They had tried everything and it still didn't seem like enough. The new powers had done major damage to him, but not enough to actually take him out and they knew that they were running out of options. Looking into Tommy's eyes, Kim knew he felt the same way she was feeling; something had to be done. As she looked at him, a conversation with Billy came back to her.

_Flashback_

…_..the rangers laughed as Rocky finished his story about what happened the first time they had gone to Phaedos. Billy shook his head and looked at Kim and Tommy._

"_You know," he smiled. "It really doesn't surprise me the way you two handle your powers."_

"_Why do you say that Billy?" Kim asked._

"_Kim," he smiled at her. "You have been doing things with your powers long before now; the way you used them to help Tommy against Prince Gasket and on Murianthesis; you defied all logic simply because we had lost the powers before. You used your powers in ways we never even thought of back then, so that's why the strength that the two of have with these powers doesn't surprise me."_

_End flashback_

Suddenly she knew what to do; her eyes once again looked around and saw that most of the rangers had gotten to their knees, and the rest were rousing the others. She looked back at Tommy, gaining strength from the look in his eyes, before moving to her knees. She staggered to her feet, and took shaky steps toward Nerian, ignoring the call of her friends, holding her arm to her chest.

"Does the pretty pink ranger think she has what it takes to defeat me?" Nerian taunted. "You're powerless and no match for me."

"A wise woman once said _'to those who possess the great power, anything is possible'_ and I believe that with everything in me," Kim took deep breaths as she stopped a slight distance away from him.

"Kim what are you doing?" Aisha cried out, hoping beyond hope her best friend wasn't about to do what she thought she was.

"Our powers were given to us to protect others," Kim spoke, ignoring her friends once more. "But they were also given to protect us; and that's what I'm going to do." She said nothing else as she dropped her hands to her sides and closed her eyes. When they opened, they were glowing pink….


	2. Ch 1: Learning

**A/N: **here is the first chapter. Sorry for the long wait. It starts with the last scene in SD, but it has more details, while some have been cut. Hope you like it.

**Summary: **when an ancient being arrives, the rangers have to once again suit up to stop him. they call upon all the former rangers for help and the six former ninjetti must once again go on a quest in search of an ancient power. Will it be enough to stop Nerian, or will the rangers finally perish?

**Chapter Summary: **the rangers, old and new, exchange stories and they get to know each other better.

**Disclaimer: **first and last time I will say this with regards to ownership of the rangers; I DO NOT OWN THEM! but I wish I did *sighs*; the only thing I own is their villain.

**Original Posting Date: **Sunday 11th, April '10.

* * *

A pink and white Ford Focus pulled into the parking lot of the high school. The driver smiled in her rearview mirror, fixing her hair and re-applying her lip gloss, before opening the door. She stepped out and turned to close the door. Turning back, she looked up at the building, a smile on her face.

"I hope he's ready for this," she whispered. She opened the doors and walked inside. She smiled as she saw the students and how the gym was directed. She looked to the front and saw Kira on stage. She stopped next to the punch table and listened as Kira sang the chorus for her song;

_Just a little more time and  
Just a little less thinking,  
Just a little more time is all that I need,  
Just a little more reason  
Just a little more breathing  
Just give it time……._

She cheered along with everyone else. Tommy had told her that Kira could sing, but just listening to her, she knew that that was an understatement; the girl was talented. She watched as she walked off stage and headed to a group of people. Looking closer, she saw that it was her friends. With a smile, she maneuvered between the students, making sure her friends didn't see her all the while oblivious to the appreciative looks she was getting from the boys. As she got closer to her friends, Kim was thankful for her height and for the many students in the building; as it was, they had no idea she was there. When she came up behind Tommy, she watched as he stiffened. She shook her head with a smile; it didn't surprise her that he'd know she was there as they always seemed to know whenever the other was close. Biting her lip, she reached out and tapped his arm. When he turned around, she looked into his eyes and said.

"Hi Handsome."

_(When Kira finished her song)_

At the final strum of the guitar, the gym went up in applause. Kira smiled as she looked out at her fellow classmates. Her gaze sought out her friends, and when she found them, her smile became wider. She placed her guitar against the mike, and walked off towards them.

"That was beautiful Kira," Hayley smiled at her when she got there.

"Thanks Haley," she smiled back.

"I agree with Hayley," Tanya said. "Tommy said you could sing, but that was amazing."

"She reminds me of Kim," Zack said.

"Seriously?" Kira was surprised and pleased. Tommy had told them about the original rangers and how good of a singer the original pink was and to hear that was the biggest compliment to her.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us you were singing at prom!" Ethan said.

"It was a surprise," Kira smiled.

"You did good Kira," Ethan smiled, Trent nodded in agreement.

"Well?" She turned to Connor. "What about you jock?"

"Hmmm, I don't know," he teased. "I don't think it was your best performance."

"Connor!" she smacked his chest, and before she could realize, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. He ducked his head to kiss her, when he pulled back, she smiled.

"I'm just messing with you," he smiled at her. "You always give a good performance Kira, we both know that."

"Thanks," she smiled as she leaned up for another kiss.

"What the hell!" Ethan exclaimed. The two pulled away and looked at the others.

"What?" Connor asked.

"Don't 'what' me," Ethan said. "Are you two dating? And since when?"

"Yes we are," Connor said.

"Have been since last summer," Kira continued.

"Last summer!" Ethan asked. "But then, how come I'm just finding out? I thought we were friends?"

"We are," Connor said. "It's not that Ethan. We knew that Kira would've caught a lot of flack at the time and there was no way I was going to put her through that."

"So we decided to keep our relationship a secret from everyone," Kira said. "At the beginning of the school year, after that first detention, we realized it was better if we kept it from everyone until the end of the school year."

"Forgive us?" Connor asked.

"I can understand why," Ethan said. "No more secrets, ok?"

"No more," Kira smiled. Jason was going to say something, when he saw Tommy freeze.

"Tommy, what is it?" he asked. Before Tommy could answer, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and his eyes widened in shock. Standing in front of him was none other than Kimberly.

"Hey Handsome."

"Kimberly!" Tommy exclaimed as he pulled her into a hug. "When did you get here?"

"Just a while ago," Kim smiled as she pulled back from the hug. "I stopped by your place to drop my stuff off and then I came here." She stepped back a little further and let her eyes run over his body. He was dressed in an all black tux with a white tie; it was sign of two of the powers he had felt most comfortable with. "You look good Handsome."

Seeing her look him over, Tommy decided to do the same. He noticed that she had her hair in curls and had them in a ponytail that was pinned with some loose curls hanging out; her make-up was light and she was wearing a strapless, knee-length pink dress with pink, two-inch strappy heels. "So do you Beautiful."

"Do the two of you plan to ogle each other all night or we going to get a chance to say hi to Kim?" Jason asked from behind them.

Kim laughed and directed her attention from Tommy to him. "Hey Jase."

"Hey Kim," he smiled as he pulled her into a hug. "Missed you."

"Same here," Kim smiled as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Since I know that these kids (pointing to the teens) would like a better introduction," Hayley said. "Why don't we all head over to Tommy's place?"

"Hayley," Kim smiled when she saw her. She pulled from Jason and pulled the redhead into a hug.

"It's good to see you too Kim," Hayley smiled. She had missed the petite brunette just as much as the others, because even though she was friends with them all, Kim was her very first female best friend and if it wasn't for her, Hayley never would've been friends with the others.

"Hayley's right," Trini said. "Let's head over to Tommy's."

"And Kim can give me my proper greetings," Aisha teased her best friend.

"You know I didn't forget you 'Sha," Kim turned to her.

"So," Ethan said. "We're heading to Dr. O's place?"

"Yeah," Tommy said. He turned to lead them out, but was stopped by Kim. "What is it?"

"I didn't dress up for nothing," Kim smiled at him. "I want a dance; besides, I think we're long overdue for a prom night….don't you?"

"You're right," Tommy smiled. He gave a bow and held out his hand. "May I have this dance pretty lady?"

"Yes you may kind sir," Kim giggled as she curtsied. Tommy took her hand and led her out to the middle of the dance floor. A slow song came on, and Kim turned and placed her arms around Tommy's neck while his went around her waist. He leaned down enough to kiss her and when he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers. They smiled at each other as they moved to the beat of the song. Most of the occupants on the floor watched them; the students watching their science teacher, who was the most handsome, eligible bachelor in the school, dance with the beautiful brunette. They're friends all had smiles on their faces as they watched the two.

"They look so beautiful together," Angela, Ethan's date, said.

"They do make a cute couple," Kira agreed.

"It's about time," Jason whispered, the other original rangers agreeing with him. He had a smile on his face as he watched Kim and Tommy; the two were looking into each other's eyes as if there was no one else around. And for them, that might as well be true.

"They're so in love with each other," Krista commented. "You can tell just by looking at them."

"That they are," Trini smiled. The song finished and Kim and Tommy made their way back over to the group.

"You guys ready?" Kim asked.

"More than ready," Rocky laughed.

"Alright," Tommy nodded. "Let's go." The group, Anton and Elsa included, made their out of the gym and to the parking lot. When they got to the cars, they stopped.

"So," Ethan spoke. "Who's going with whom?"

"Well," Tommy said. "I can take Kat, Anton and Elsa with me; Connor can you hold the others?"

"I can only hold four," Connor shook his head. "And that's not adding me."

"I'm riding with Kim," Aisha said.

"So am I," Tanya echoed, followed by Trini.

"Why not let one of the teens ride with me," Kim suggested. "And then we can go."

"Sounds good," Tommy said. "So, who's going to ride with Kim?"

"I'll go," Krista said. She kissed Trent and headed towards Kim and the others.

"Alright," Zack smiled. "Let's do this." They each got into their respective vehicles and the cars drove out of the parking lot; Tommy was in front, followed by Kim and the girls; then Jason and Billy, Zack, Angela and Hayley; after them was Connor and the others; and last was Adam, Rocky and Justin.

…

The group arrived at Tommy's place twenty minutes later. They pulled into his driveway and parked in a line. Talking and laughter were present as each car's occupants made their way into the house. Opening the door, Tommy stepped back and allowed the others to go first. When the last person was in, he closed the door and heading to the living room where everyone else was. He saw that Kim had claimed the love seat, while Jason, Trini, Aisha, Tanya and Angela were on the large couch; Rocky, Hayley, Billy, Zack and Adam were on the midsize couch; Anton and Elsa on the single seat couch while the kids were in the floor. Tommy headed over to Kim and lifted her from the chair before sitting back down with her on his lap.

"How about some introductions Handsome," Kim smiled back at him.

"Ok," Tommy nodded. "Well you know the others; that's Anton Mercer and Elsa Santos, and the kids are Connor McKnight, Kira Ford, Ethan James, Trent Fernandez-Mercer, Krista Davis and Angela Johnson. Guys, this is Kimberly Hart."

"Nice to meet you," Kim smiled at them.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person," Anton smiled over at her. "I've heard and seen pictures about you from Tommy, so it's good to meet the person behind them."

"He talked to you about me?" Kim asked, her head tilting the side in curiosity.

"Yes, he did," Anton laughed.

"That's sweet," Kim smiled at Anton before turning to peck Tommy on his cheeks.

"Dr. O," Connor teased. "Are you blushing?"

"No," Tommy denied. "Now shut up Connor." The group laughed.

"So Kira," Kira turned to her. "Tommy told me you were a singer, but I don't think he explained well enough; you were amazing."

"Thanks," Kira blushed.

"We told her she reminded us of you," Tanya smiled at her friend. "I don't think she's come down from that high yet."

"Well I hear it isn't only singing we have in common," Kim smiled at her.

"What do you mean?" Krista asked.

Kim was silent, as were the other rangers, when Krista asked that question. She knew that they weren't rangers and she was wondering how to go about explaining everything. She looked at her friends then at Krista and Angela. Making a decision, she turned to the DT teens.

"Do you trust that they'll be able to keep it a secret?"

Trent looked at Krista before looking back at Kim. "I do."

"What about you Ethan?" Kim asked.

"I hope so," Ethan said; he really liked Angela and he wanted to see if there could be anything between them, but he knew that if she couldn't take this then, no matter how much it would hurt, he would have to let her go.

"Connor," Kim called his name to get his attention. "You're the leader; do you trust them enough to tell them? Do you trust that they won't betray you?"

Connor looked at his friends. He knew if he said no, then both Ethan and Trent would be hurt, but he didn't want to jeopardize everyone else's life. He thought over what he knew about Krista and knew that she was one of the most trustworthy people he'd ever met; he didn't know Angela as well, but could only hope that she was. "I trust Krista and I don't know Angela enough for that, but if Ethan does, then I see no problem with it."

"Ok."

"Kim," Kat asked. "What are you doing?"

"Letting in two new members in the civilian section," Kim answered.

"But what about the three rules?" Kat asked.

"I'd like to think that Zordon trusted enough for us to know when, where and how to reveal anything," Kim said. "We've certainly earned it."

"What are you talking about?' Angela asked.

"We're talking about whether or not to trust you enough to let you know what Kim meant by her comment," Trini spoke.

"We care about Ethan and Trent," Krista answered for both girls. "And the others as well, and we wouldn't do anything to put them at risk and we wouldn't betray their secrets either….whatever it was."

"Are you sure?" Tanya asked. "Because what we're about to tell you is big."

"We're sure," Angela said.

"Ok we'll tell you," Kim said. She paused for a few seconds, and when she spoke, her voice was cold, as was her eyes. "And if you ever betray us and tell anyone, then I will personally make your lives a living hell. There will be no place you could run from me. The least thing I could do to you would be to have one of my friends wipe your entire memory of anything relatable to us. Do we have an understanding?"

Never before had they ever heard such a cold tone directed at them. Even the DT rangers were in shock. They never would've believed it if they hadn't been there. Looking at Kim, they never would've thought that she could be so cold and emotionless when she seemed so bubbly.

"We have," Krista nodded; she was a little afraid of what Kim would if she didn't agree.

"Good," Kim nodded before turning to Connor. "Since it's your team and your members, you should be the one to handle this."

"Ok," Connor said. "You guys know about the power rangers, right?"

"Yes," Angela said. "Anyone that lives in Reefside could tell you about them. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"It has to do with everything," Trent said. "_We _are the power rangers."

"What?" both girls were shocked. They looked at their friends in disbelief. "You're joking." Krista said.

"No, we're not," Kira spoke. "Look, don't you think it's strange that I'm the only girl that hung out with Ethan, Trent and Connor?"

"Just a little," Krista spoke. "But I didn't really pay that much attention to it, I suppose."

"The rangers only had one female ranger," Ethan said. "She was the yellow ranger and Kira wears yellow."

"But if Kira's the yellow ranger," Angela said. "Then based on your clothing; Ethan's the blue, Trent's the white and Connor is the red?"

"Yes," Trent said.

"So that means," Krista turned to look at Connor.

"It was me that saved your life that day," Connor told her.

"Oh my God," Krista whispered. The two girls were quiet as they thought on what they had just been told; their friends were the power rangers. They had risked their lives every day to make their town safe.

"Are you two going to be ok?" Kim asked; her voice still held the cold tone while her eyes were still frosty. "Are you going to be able to handle it?"

The girls were silent for a few more minutes before they looked at each, nodded, then turned to the group. "You have to admit, this is a huge thing."

"We know," Kira said; she truly hoped that they would understand, but she was still sympathetic towards them as she knew that this had to feel overwhelming.

"But," Angela said. "We appreciate the fact that you guys trust us enough to tell us this."

"We meant it when we said we cared about you," Krista said. "And we would never do anything that would hurt you. Knowing that you trust us is a good thing, however…."

"You have to give us some time to get used to this," Angela said. "It's one thing to know of the rangers, but quite another when you learn that your friends _are _the rangers. However, we don't want to lose you guys as friends or anything else, so…."

"You're secret is safe with us," Krista finished. "But like Angie said, give us a little time to get used to it."

"That's fine," Kim smiled. "Now that that's over with, we can have a real reunion. My name is Kimberly Hart and I'm the original pink ranger; I was the pink Dino ranger and the first pink Ninjetti; I held the Pterodactyl zord which was later upgraded to the Pterodactyl-Firebird Thunderzord, the Ninja Crane zord and I shared control over the white Shogunzord; my specialty was the Bow and Arrow." The teens, Anton and Elsa stared at Kim in shock. Just a second ago she was downright scary and now she was back to her bubbly persona. Tommy and the others looked at them and laughed. Kim tended to have that effect on people when she got that way.

"Ok," Connor shook himself out of his shock as did the others. "I'm Connor McKnight and I was the Dino Thunder red ranger; I had the Tyrannosaurus zord, my power was super-speed and I had the Tyrannno Sword; I could also access the Shield of Triumph which allowed the others to transfer some of their powers to me to give me a boost and I was able to go Triassic Ranger."

"I'm Kira Ford," Kira smiled at them. "And I was the yellow Dino Thunder ranger; I held the Pterodactyl zord, my power was the Ptera Scream and I had the Ptera Daggers."

"Ethan James," he said. "I was the blue Dino Thunder ranger; I held the Triceratops zord, my power was having the ability to turn my skin diamond hard and I had the Tricera Lance."

"I'm Trent Mercer," Trent said. "I was the white Dino Thunder ranger; I held the Drego zord, my power was camouflage or chameleon and I had the."

"Tommy Oliver," Tommy spoke up. "Original green and white ranger; I was the green and white Dino ranger, the white ninjetti, red ZEO and TURBO and black Dino Thunder ranger; I held the green Dragon zord, the white Tiger zord, the white Ninja Falcon zord, shared control of the white Shogunzord, the red ZEO zord V, the Red Battle zord, Super ZEO zord V, Red Lightening Turbo zord and the black Brachio zord; I had control over the Green Dagger, Saba, ZEO sword and the power of invisibility. I passed on my TURBO powers to TJ Johnson."

Tommy's answered had the teens staring at him in shock. Tommy laughed at the looks on their faces.

"Dr. O," Connor started. "I guess you liked it too much?"

That started the ball rolling and the others collapsed in laughter. For years they had been teasing Tommy about it, but it was still funny, especially with the way Connor said it.

"OK, ok," Jason smiled. "Let's continue; I'm Jason Scott and I was the original red ranger. I had command of the Tyrannosaurus Zord which was upgraded to the Tyrannosaurus-Red Dragon Thunderzord, and I was the gold ZEO ranger; I had control of the Power Sword and the Golden Power Staff."

"I'm Trini Kwan-Scott," Trini smiled from her place next to Jason. "I was the original yellow ranger; I had command over the Saber-tooth tiger zord which was upgraded to the Saber-tooth tiger-Griffin Thunderzord and I held the Power Daggers."

"Zack Taylor here," he smiled. "I was the original black ranger with command over the Mastodon zord which changed to the Mastodon-Lion Thunderzord and I had the Power Axe."

"Billy Cranston," he said. "I was the original blue ranger; I became the blue Ninjetti and I was the Technical Advisor to the ZEO rangers. I commanded the Triceratops which then became the Triceratop-Unicorn Thunderzord, after that I had command of the Ninja Wolf zord followed by the blue Shogunzord. When Rocky got injured, he passed on the blue TURBO powers to me and I had control over the Mountain Blaster TURBO zord which I passed on to Justin Stewart."

"Aisha Campbell," she smiled at them from Rocky's side. "I replaced Trini as the yellow Dino ranger and since Tri already explained her part, I don't have to go over it. The only thing different is that I was the yellow Ninjetti and I had the Ninja Bear zord and control of the yellow Shogunzord; during the start of ZEO I passed the legacy on to Tanya."

"Adam Park," Adam went next. "I replaced Zack as the black Dino ranger; I then became the black Ninjetti which gave me control of the Ninja Frog zord. After that, I had the black Shogunzord, then I was the green ZEO ranger with control over ZEO zord 4 and the first green TURBO with control over the Desert Thunder TURBO zord which I passed on to Carlos Valerte."

"Tanya Sloan-Park," Tanya spoke up. "Like Sha said, I became the yellow ZEO ranger in her place and I was the first yellow TURBO; I had control over the ZEO zord 2 and over the Yellow Dune star TURBO zord before I passed it on to Ashley Hammond."

"Rocky DeSantos," Rocky waved slightly. "I replaced Jason as the red Dino ranger; after we lost those powers, I became the red Ninjetti ranger and had the Ninja Ape zord and then the red Shogunzord; after that, I was the blue ZEO ranger with control over the ZEO zord 3. Like Billy said, I got the blue TURBO powers but they were given to him after I had a back injury."

"And I'm Katherine Hillard," Kat smiled at them. "I replaced Kimberly as the pink Ninjetti ranger and owner of the Ninja Crane zord and shared control of the white Shogunzord; however, unlike Kimberly, I was never in full control of the Crane zord because the Crane is Kim's animal spirit, not mine."

"Sorry about that," Kim laughed.

"It's alright," Kat smiled at her friend. "Anyways, after we lost the Ninja powers, I became the pink ZEO ranger with power over the ZEO zord 1; when we lost those powers, I gained the powers of the pink TURBO ranger along with the pink Wind Chaser TURBO zord which I passed on to Cassandra Chan."

"I'm Angela Warner," the girl who was sitting next to Zack smiled. "I was never a ranger; I'm what you call a civilian and I'm Zack's girlfriend."

"Your turn Mr. Mercer," Kira said.

"Anton Mercer," the man smiled. "I was Tommy's boss and Trent's; I then became the Dino Thunder's villain Messogog."

"Elsa Santos," the woman next to Anton said. "I was one of Messogog's henchmen and now I'm the principal at RHS; so in essence, I replaced Anton as Tommy's boss."

"Hayley Ziktor," the red-head smiled. "I met Kimberly during our sophomore year of college and she introduced me to the others and we've been friends ever since."

"I didn't know you knew all of them Hayley," Ethan said. "I mean, you only told us that you knew Dr. O from college but not the others."

"How do you think Tommy was able to create that video for you guys to know," Hayley smiled. "Tommy, while a great ranger, is forgetful, so I had Kim's help with the clips from before Tommy joined the team and some of after he joined; then I got Tommy's and Billy's help with the rest of those and Kim, well, Kim threatened Andros into helping with the rest."

"I didn't threaten him," Kim said.

"Kim," Hayley turned to look at her best friend. "You told him that if he didn't help you would castrate him with a rusty butter knife before burying him alive with mini scorpions, seeing as how he was afraid of them."

"Ok," Kim laughed. "I guess I did."

The teens watched her in horror. "You told him that?" Krista asked.

"Well," Kim smiled. "It was kind of payback for the whole Red's Only Mission that he and the former red rangers decided to go on…without telling anyone I might add."

"And we said were sorry," Jason said.

"Yeah yeah," Kim waved his words away.

"Remind to never ever get on your bad side," Connor said which caused the others to laugh.

"So Kira," Kim's laughing was reduced to giggles as she turned to the blonde. "How did you like the ptera zord?"

"It was terrifying at first," Kira admitted with a laugh. "But I got used to it and after I learned that it was the same as the original pink ranger, well I felt…honored."

"I feel honored," Kim laughed. "And I totally understand that whole terrifying feeling thing; I was the same."

"Though if you saw her fly you'd never think that," Tommy injected.

"She was that good?" Elsa asked.

"Better," Jason nodded. "She was even better than Tommy."

"That's because I had the flying zord way before he got his falcon," Kim smiled.

"I don't think so B," Tommy shook his head.

"B?" Ethan turned confused eyes towards his teacher.

"Beautiful," Kim was the one to answer. "He called me that when he came back to the team as the white ranger and it's been my nickname ever since."

"Oh," Ethan nodded. "Ok."

"That's so sweet," Krista smiled.

"I want a nickname like that," Angela turned to Ethan who got a stricken look on his face.

"Uhm," Ethan's eyes darted around the room as the others laughed at him.

"I'm just playing with you Ethe," Angela laughed.

"Good," he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah you think it's sweet," Zack laughed. "But the way she got it is funny as hell."

"What happened?" Connor asked.

"She fainted when she saw him," Trini smiled over at Kim.

"Seriously?" Connor laughed as he looked over at the two.

"Hey," Kim said. "In my defense, I hadn't seen or heard from him in like two weeks, so I was a little surprised when a white ranger shows up and it's him behind the helmet."

"A little surprised?" Jason chuckled. "You were beyond shocked; so were we."

"Yeah," Zack laughed. "We were angry with Zordon because we thought he was bringing in some one new and we didn't like that."

"We already had someone that we had liked and had bonded with," Trini smiled. "We wanted Tommy and I think that if it had been someone else, we had already made the decision to, well for lack of a better word…distance ourselves from them."

"Though I think Kimberly felt that way more than either of us," Billy smiled.

"Well I was starting to fall for him," Kim smiled back at Tommy. "Though I didn't know it at the time and it scared me to be apart from him and to have to share something like that with someone else and not with him."

"We all knew that," Trini laughed. "We were just waiting for the two of them to catch up."

"You guys are so close," Kira mused as she looked on at the friends.

"We are," Kim smiled as she looked around at her friends.

"Wasn't always that way though," Rocky said. "We almost messed it up."

"But," Billy added. "Lucky for us, we got a second chance to make things right."

"And we're not wasting it," Kat finished with a small smile in Kim's direction.

"What happened?" Krista asked, sensing the undertones in the conversation.

"Not tonight," Kim shook her head. "Enough about us; tell me about you guys. I want to hear about you from your point of view…not from Tommy's or Hayley's."

"Well," Kira started. "I play the guitar; I've been playing it since I was a kid. My aunt Anita was actually the one who bought it for me and she taught me how to play it."

"My mom was the one to buy me my first guitar," Kim smiled. "I was six I think and she surprised me with it."

"Playing the guitar and singing was like an escape for me," Kira said. "I wasn't really a social kid; I stuck to myself but I liked it. Kylie was the only true friend I had until she moved. After that, I turned even more to my music and then I got to high school and well, people thought I was weird but I didn't really pay any attention to it. Then the summer before senior year, Connor was at the same camp I was and we started talking; we realized that without all the taunts or pressure from the other kids, we actually had a few things in common and we enjoyed talking with each other. By the end of the summer, we were a couple; when we got back to school, we knew things would be difficult, so…after that first detention, we decided to just keep it as friends."

"You sound a lot like Tommy," Kim chuckled. "He was a loner as well and had his martial arts as his escape…until he met us."

"Really?" Kira looked over at her former mentor and teacher.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded. "Though there are some parts of you that remind of Kim as well."

"Mostly her singing, guitar playing and her zord, right?" Zack teased.

"Sue me," Tommy laughed.

"How did you like being a ranger?" Aisha asked.

"Well," Kira smiled. "At first, I didn't want it; I gave my rock to Connor and told them to forget I was ever there. But, after I was kidnapped by Messogog, I changed my mind and decided I wanted to do it. Getting the zord and flying was both exciting and terrifying, but I got the hang of it."

"Especially that Ptera scream," Ethan laughed. The others, including Kira, laughed when he said that.

"What about you Connor?" Kim asked as she tried to got her laughter under control.

"For me," Connor smiled once he stopped laughing. "It was soccer; I got really interested in it after seeing it on TV. My parents bought me my very first soccer ball when I was six. The moment I kicked that ball I fell in love with the sport. Later that year, they let me join the kids' team, and I've been playing soccer ever since."

"He's the King of Soccer at Reefside High," Ethan said.

"My brother though," Connor smiled as he thought of his twin

"You have a brother?" Kim interrupted him.

"Yeah," Connor said. "He's my twin; he wasn't really into soccer as I was, he preferred Martial Arts. When he and my dad moved up to Blue Bay Harbor after my parents divorced, he joined the Ninja Academy that they have over there. I didn't really get interested in it until I became a ranger; Dr. O showed us a few moves and practiced with us. When I became a ranger, at first I was excited, but then when I realized that for me to be a ranger I would have give up soccer…"

"You became conflicted," Kim looked at him with understanding eyes. "You felt torn because while you did understand what a great honor it was to be a ranger, you weren't sure you would be able to let go of something that was such a huge part of your life."

"Yeah," Connor nodded.

"I felt the same way," Kim smiled at him. "But then I realized that my being a gymnast could actually help with my being a ranger; it wasn't until I was noticed by Günter Schmidt, that I had to make that decision; whether to stay being a ranger and helping the world or pursue my own dreams…dreams I had before I even became a ranger which was to compete in the Olympics. But my friends and my mentor told me that I should follow my heart, which at the time, was telling me to go to Florida."

"Did you ever regret it?" Connor asked.

"No not really," Kim shook her head with a smile as Tommy grabbed her hand. "The only time I had any semblance of regret was when Tommy and I decided to break up; we didn't want to, but at the time it was best for us, but during all that, a part of me wished I had stayed a ranger."

"But," Tommy picked up. "We both knew that if she had, she would've regretted not going to Florida and she might've ended up resenting us, the powers and Zordon for letting her stay."

"Since you obviously became the red ranger," Jason said. "How did you decide to stay?"

"A little girl," Connor smiled. "She was there during a monster attack and I ended up saving her life. When she smiled at me in thanks, I felt so overwhelmed with pride that I knew right then and there I couldn't give it up; that it was what I wanted to do. I wanted to help people because it felt good knowing I was doing the right thing."

"It wasn't like that for me," Trent said. "At least, not at first. I didn't become a ranger on my own, I was forced into it; I had to fight my friends and I couldn't be with the person I wanted to be with. I hurt Kira, who was one of my very first friends at school, and I trapped Dr. O in amber."

"Sounds just a bit like Tommy," Zack said. "He was forced into the ranger world by our villain at the time, Rita Repulsa; he fought against us, destroyed our Command Center, banished Zordon and hurt Kim in the process; despite all that, after we found out who the green ranger was, we never gave up on him, especially not Kimberly."

"Well it wasn't really like that," Trent smiled. "Kira didn't give up on me, but Connor and Ethan, especially Connor, was not so trusting or forgiving. Connor didn't forgive me until I saved Dr. O's life. Looking back and knowing what I do now, I can see he was just trying to protect his girlfriend."

"Well," Billy turned to Ethan, "What about you Ethan?"

"For me it was the complete opposite," Ethan smiled. "From the moment Dr. O told us, I was excited; I didn't really have much friends and being a ranger I felt like I could finally fit in. When we became a team, I finally had friends; granted we were friends because we had to work together, but it didn't really matter. We got to know each other better and we became really good friends. We started looking out for each other, being there for each other."

"That's what being a ranger is all about," Tanya smiled at them. "It's about doing the right thing, being true to who you are…"

"It's about being a family," Kat finished.

"I can see that," Anton nodded as did Elsa.

"Well I for one am glad for this family," Aisha smiled. "I made some really good friends and I found myself a sister and a best friend."

"Same here," Kim smiled over at her.

"And now that you're home," Aisha looked at her. "You can help me plan my wedding."

"Wedding?" Angela, Ethan's girlfriend asked.

"Rocky and I are engaged," Aisha said. "But I decided that I wanted to wait to have the wedding because I wanted Kim to be there as my maid of honor."

"We would've done the same," Trini gestured to her and Tanya. "But Kim was very adamant that we get married without her and she made it up by giving us our honeymoon."

"Though we would've preferred her being at the wedding," Tanya smiled.

"Tell me something," Connor said. "What was Dr. O like in high school?"

"Very forgetful," Kim laughed as did the others. "Tri, remember when we tried to help him with it?"

"Yeah," Trini laughed. "Though I think we made it worse."

"Was he really strict?" Ethan asked. "Did he follow rules?"

"Him?" Zack and Jason both exchanged looks before collapsing in laughter.

"Strict?" Zack tried to control his laughter. "This is the guy who helped with every prank Jase and I came up with…even came up with a few of his own."

"Dr O?" Trent turned wide eyes to his former teacher, as did the other teens. "Are we talking about the same person?"

"Would you please stop ruining my image in front of my kids?" Tommy groaned.

"Tell us about them," Connor leaned forward, mindful of Kira who was sitting on his lap. "Tell us about Dr. O as a teen."

"Well," Zack started. "Where should I start?"

"I'm not listening to this," Tommy groaned as he lifted Kim before placing her back in the seat and headed to the kitchen.

"Oh come on Dr. O," Ethan laughed before turning back to Zack. "Tell us."

Zack laughed as he told the kids of how he and Tommy had played a prank on Bulk and Skull. Jason and the others laughed along with the teens as Zack told his story. After a few minutes, Zack started on another story and Jason decided to go after Tommy in the kitchen.

"You're not too bummed are you?" he asked when he saw him leaning against the counter.

"Nah," Tommy shook his head with a smile. "Let them have their fun."

"They're good kids," Jason said.

"I know," Tommy looked at him. "I'm proud of them and I'm glad you guys got to meet them."

"So are we," Jason said. He turned to look out in the living when he heard laughter before looking back at Tommy. "So?"

"What?" Tommy asked back, confusion in his voice.

"You and Kim," Jason clarified. "When are you two going to make it official? I know you both have been waiting years for this."

"I know," Tommy smiled. "I love her so much Jase, I can't wait until I can truly call her mine again."

"So what are you waiting for?" Jason threw his hands in the air in frustration. "Do it now. Take Kim aside and seal the deal." Tommy was silent as he thought on what Jason said. It's true, he had been waiting for the day he and Kim would be back together ever since high school, but to know that it was right there, was a little daunting. But even as that feeling came, he pushed it away. He loved her and he wanted nothing more than to be with her…after all, he did believe that they were meant for each other, meant to be together.

"You're right man," Tommy smiled. "It's time to get my girl back."

"About time," Jason laughed. Tommy smiled back at him as he made his way out of the kitchen. As he passed through the front room, he caught Kim's eyes and jerked his head to the door. He saw her nod and he kept walking. He closed the door behind him and was standing on a rock overlooking the forest. As he stood there, his mind drifted back to when they were teens and he smiled as an idea came to him. Getting off the rock, he walked to a clearing and started doing a few katas. He was just getting into it when he heard her behind him.

"They said back at the gym I'd find you here."

_(A few minutes ago)_

Kim was laughing at the looks on the teens faces as Adam told them about when she had fallen in love with Skull and blown Tommy off. She saw Jason follow Tommy into the kitchen and smiled. She laughed as Rocky told her of a mistake that had happened to him a few days ago.

"Rocky," she shook her head, laughter still in her voice. "Only you could have something like that happen to you."

"Aww Kim," Rocky whined. "I thought you'd be on my side."

"Sorry baby," Kim teased. "You're on your own." She laughed, as did the others. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tommy walking out the kitchen. She turned to look at him and saw him motion towards the door. She smiled and nodded to let him know she understood. She turned back to her friends and saw Aisha looking at her with a smile on her face. Aisha nodded towards and said. "Go on."

"Are you sure?" Kim asked.

"It's finally time," Aisha smiled at her.

"Ok," Kim nodded. She excused herself from the group the same time Jason came back into the room. Giving him a smile, she headed outside. When the door closed behind her, the teens looked at the others.

"What's going on?" Kira asked.

"Something that we've all been waiting on," Adam answered. The older rangers smiled and as one, they moved to the windows. As Kim closed the door, she saw Tommy standing on a rock. She watched as he moved from the rock and started doing some katas. As she watched him, a memory came back to her and she smiled. Stepping off the porch, she walked until she was close enough for him to hear her.

"They said back at the gym I'd find you here."

"Yeah," he said as he stopped to walk over to her. "I like practicing outside sometimes…you know, smell the fresh air."

Though it was hard, Kim kept the smile off her face. "How are you doing?"

"I'm hanging," Tommy replied, he too trying to keep a straight face. "I've been working on my karate, focus on my school work…I'm just trying to keep busy you know."

Kim felt her heart sing; what they were doing was practically a re-enactment of the day they started, and to know that Tommy remembered it, even with his forgetfulness, made her very happy. It was taking a lot of control not to kiss him, but she wanted the memory to play out. "We miss you."

Tommy ducked his head for a second, a smile playing on his lips. He had seen the short battle in Kim's eyes and knew she was wondering if she should continue or just go straight to the end. He too had considered it, but when she had continued, he knew there was no way he couldn't let it go on. So with that thought in mind, he raised his head and looked her in the eyes. "Yeah, but you guys were a team long before I came along; it'll go back to normal soon."

Inside, Kim cheered as he kept going. She too had seen the indecision and surprise in his eyes when she had chose to continue with the memory and was happy that he was willing to let it play out. Playing coy, she lowered her eyes for a second before looking back at him. "I miss you." When that phrase was uttered, Kim knew that she wasn't only playing along with the memory. Being apart from him these past few years had been hard and she truly missed him.

Knowing Kim as well as he did, despite their years apart, Tommy knew that those words were more than just a memory recall. As much as she missed him, he missed her as well. Being so far apart had been hard and he would find himself praying and hoping that their time together would be sooner rather than later. Though his next actions were true to their beginning as a couple, it was also how he truly felt at this moment. He had waited years for this day and looking into her eyes, he could see she felt the same. He grabbed her hand in his and rubbed his thumb softly over the back. Looking back into her eyes, he slowly leaned down and captured her lips into a soft kiss, one reminiscent of their very first one that day at the lake, though it was more passionate as it wasn't two teens just admitting how they felt about each other but about two lovers finally finding their way back to each other after years of separation. When he pulled back, he smiled.

"I've been wanting to do that for a long time," he told her, though this time, he wasn't talking through the memory; this time, he was focused on the here and now.

"Me too," Kim smiled, knowing he meant the time they'd been apart because she felt the same.

"Well, now that that's over with," Tommy smiled as he lightly swung their joined hands. "I guess my next question is a piece of cake."

"What's that?" Kim asked.

"Kimberly," Tommy looked into the eyes of the woman he loved more than anything. His voice was slightly more serious than before, as some part of him was a little nervous of her answer. "Will you move in with me?"

Kim pulled her hand from his and turned her back on him. She fiddled with her fingers, smiling as she heard him behind her.

Tommy was a little worried when he saw Kim pull away and turn around. He hoped she wasn't angry. "Well?" when she didn't say anything, he started to wonder if he had done something wrong. "Kimberly!?"

Laughing, Kim turned back around and lightly punched his shoulder. "I didn't want to make it too easy for you."

Tommy laughed as he remembered, finally, that she had done the same thing the first time around. "You like making me sweat don't you?" He shook his head as she laughed; he still needed an answer. "So?"

"Of course I'll move in with you," Kim smiled.

"Yes!" Tommy smiled as he placed his hands on her hips and picked her up.

"Tommy!" Kim laughed down at him when he twirled her in a circle. He spun them for a few minutes before setting her back on her feet. He pulled her to him as her arms went around his neck.

"I love you Beautiful."

"I love you too Handsome," she said before pulled his head down for another kiss. They pulled away when they heard cheering from the inside the house. Kim laughed as she buried her head into Tommy's chest. "We have nosy friends."

"Yes, we do," he agreed. He pulled back from the hug and grabbed her hand in his. "Well, time to face the music." She laughed and the two walked back to their friends. When they got inside, it was to see everyone looking at them.

"Well I know that you guys already know, seeing as you were spying on us," Tommy smiled. "But, we thought you should know."

"It's official," Kim continued. "Tommy and I are back together."

"YES!" their friends yelled. The girls moved to hug Kim while Tommy was cornered by the guys.

"And It's about time too," Jason smiled as he gave a friendly slap to Tommy on his back.

"I agree," Billy said. "The original power couple back together again."

"What do you mean by that?" Krista asked; she along with the other teens were happy for the two of them, especially after hearing about them from the others.

"Well," Kat spoke up. "As you know, Tommy is basically a ranger legend; he's the longest serving male ranger and he's touched the power more often than any of us and he really is the best of us."

"Not to mention the most powerful," Tanya added.

"My girl over here," Aisha smiled at Kim. "Is the longest serving female ranger; and like Tommy, Kimberly is really powerful. In fact, Kim can still call on her powers."

"Really?" Anton turned shocked eyes to her, as did the others.

"Yeah," Kim said. "My powers came back to me when Tommy was kidnapped back in junior year by their villain at the time Prince Gasket."

"And then," Rocky continued. "She used her powers when she was kidnapped by Divatox in our senior year."

"Silly us," Adam shook his head. "Thought that that was the end of it, but it wasn't."

"When your island exploded a few years ago," Hayley said. "Kim was able to call on her powers once more; she used her powers to contact Aisha, who was halfway across the world, as Kim was in Paris at the time, and showed Aisha how to reconnect to her powers and the two of them were able to save Tommy's life."

"Whoa," Connor breathed; his eyes were wide as he looked over at Kim. "You really did all that?"

"Yep," Kim nodded. "When I first got them back, according to Tommy, even Zordon was surprised when he heard I got them back. I talked to him and he told me that more than likely, I never lost the powers in the first place. He explained that since the Ninjetti powers were basically based on the animal spirits within us, when the coins were destroyed, instead of the power being destroyed as well, they just went back into us."

"Which is what Kat meant when she said that she had trouble controlling the Crane zord because the animal spirit was Kim's, not hers," Aisha said.

"Exactly," Kim said. "Zordon explained all that to me; he said that the Crane knew that Kat was not its owner, and the only reason the zord responded to her at all was because its mate was still there and asked it to."

"Its mate?" Ethan turned confused eyes to the group.

"My falcon zord," Tommy answered. "In the spirit world, the world of the Ninjetti, the falcon and the crane are the Winged Lord and Lady of the Skies; when Kim saved me from Gasket, my falcon spirit came to her and told her we were, well for lack of better word, mates."

"His exact words were, _'you are the mate to my human and the human to my mate'_," Kim smiled. "That was the reason he gave for helping me drive Gasket's spell from Tommy's mind."

"So the two of you are like destined to be and all that?" Connor asked. "Like soulmates."

"I guess you could say that," Tommy smiled over at Kim. The friends moved back to their original seats.

"Anyways," Kim continued. "Zordon explained that since we had no need for the ninjetti powers anymore, they went dormant inside of us and when I explained to him about everything that happened with me, Tommy and Gasket, he said that my love for Tommy, and my need to help him, reawakened my powers."

"Tell us about Zordon," Elsa said as she relaxed against Anton. "He sounded like a remarkable man."

"He was," Trini smiled and she, along with the rest of her friends, proceeded to tell them about Zordon. Halfway through, Tommy had the teens call their parents to let them know where they were before continuing. The discussion went long into the night and the teens, Anton and Elsa, were happy to learn about the man that started it all.

* * *

**A/N 2: **so, what did you guys think? This chapter was just about the rangers, old and new, getting to know each other. So, read and review.

_Teaser:_

_The others were sitting around the café when an explosion shook the ground._

"_What was that?" Ethan asked as he grabbed his laptop._

"_I don't know," Adam answered. Before anyone could say anything else, screams tore through the air. The friends looked at each other before running towards the door._

"_Be careful," Hayley called after them. "God, that can't be what I think it is."_


	3. Ch 2: Help from an Unexpected Source

**A/N: **the next chapter; this is the quickest I've ever updated for any story. I think. Yay me! I hope you guys like it

**Chapter Summary: **the reunion continues, and the former rangers fight their first fight; help comes from an unexpected person and the rangers learn a bit about what's in store for them.

**O.P.D: **Monday 19th April, '10.

* * *

_Last time on RAN;_

"_He was," Trini smiled and she, along with the rest of her friends, proceeded to tell them about Zordon. Halfway through, Tommy had the teens call their parents to let them know where they were before continuing. The discussion went long into the night and the teens, Anton and Elsa, were happy to learn about the man that started it all. _

* * *

It's been a few days since Kim showed up at Reefside High's Senior Prom and since she had reunited with her friends and met the newest team to become part of their ranger family. The group had spent the entire night talking, finally drifting off to sleep around three in the morning. They had woken at eleven later that day and after talking some more over breakfast, everyone had returned to their respective places, with the older rangers going back to Angel Grove because of their jobs. The prom was on Friday and it was now Monday. The alarm going off woke Kim from her sleep. Eyes closed, she reached a hand out to turn it off before reaching over to where she knew Tommy was, but her hand hit nothing but air. Frowning slightly, Kim opened her eyes and saw that his side of the bed was empty. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was seven and she shook her head as she moved from the bed. Grabbing Tommy's shirt from the chair sitting next to dresser, she headed into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth before washing her face and leaving the bathroom. She left the bedroom and headed downstairs when she smelled the scent of breakfast; with a smile, she headed straight for the kitchen. The sight that greeted her made her smile even wider; Tommy was standing at stove in a white wife-beater and black dress slacks.

"Morning Handsome," Kim smiled as she walked over to him.

"Hey," Tommy turned from the stove, taking her in his arms when she was close, before leaning down for a kiss. "Morning Beautiful; did you sleep well?"

"Better than I have in years," Kim smiled up at him. "Sleeping in your arms is the best medicine for a guaranteed good night's sleep."

"I like the sound of that," Tommy laughed. "Why don't you grab a seat? I'll be done soon."

"Alright," Kim said as she moved from his arms and sat in the chair near the center counter or island. "What are making?"

"I know how much you loved those croissant sandwiched back in high school," Tommy smiled. "So, I'm making a couple of those, along with a few sausages, bacon strips and about four pancakes."

"Hmm," Kim closed her eyes on a moan before opening them again. "Smells good; what's the occasion?"

"It's been a while since I cooked breakfast for you," Tommy smiled at her. "Saturday, Aisha and Tri dominated the kitchen, and then Sunday we went over to Hayley's café since you wanted to check it out and she ended making breakfast for not only us, but the teens as well, so today I decided it was about time I did it."

"Well I appreciate it Handsome," Kim leaned up to kiss him when he placed a plate in front of her.

"You're welcome," Tommy said. "For your drinking pleasure a nice, slightly steaming cup of Honey Lemon Tea, courtesy of Lipton Tea Bags." He knew she didn't drink coffee; one reason was, as a gymnast, she had to watch what she put in her body.

"Thank you," Kim giggled as she accepted the cup. After securing his own breakfast, Tommy turned off the stove and joined Kim. The two talked quietly as they ate, occasionally stealing kisses from each other. When they were done, Kim rinsed the dishes off and placed them in the dishwasher.

"So what are you doing today?" Tommy asked her as the two walked out the kitchen and back up the stairs.

"I'm going over to Hayley's," Kim answered as she pushed open the door to the bedroom. "Tanya's getting off from her job around twelve, so she's going to stop by to spend the afternoon with me; thought I'd help out Hayley and spend some time with her before Tanya comes."

"Ok," Tommy nodded as he sat on the bed and bent to put his shoes on. "I'll meet you there after I'm done at the school." He sat up and smiled at the picture she presented. She was leaning against his dresser, her hair was down and it fell around her waist in soft waves, his shirt coming to rest just above mid-thigh on her. "Come here."

Kim smiled as she pushed off the dresser and walked over to him, squealing when he pulled her to straddle his lap. "Yes?" she smiled at him as her hands played with the hair at the back of his neck.

"You're very beautiful, you know that?" he said to her as he brushed a lock of her hair from her face.

"Hence the nickname that you gave me back in high school," Kim teased.

His hands fell to her waist and squeezed slightly. "I love you, you know."

"I know," Kim nodded. "Because I love you too." With that, she leaned down and captured his lips. She shifted her hips and opened her mouth to accept his probing tongue, only to moan as she felt it against hers.

Tommy's hands moved from her waist and up under the shirt, teasing her skin as his hands moved up to cup her breasts. Kim pulled away from the kiss and threw her head back in a moan; in reflex, she pressed closer to him, causing him to hiss as she had rocked against his cock.

"Fuck!" Tommy hissed as Kim started rocking her hips.

"Hopefully," Kim whispered against his lips. Letting out a groan, Tommy grabbed the back of her head and pulled her to him; he captured her lips in a passionate kiss, imitating to her mouth, what he wanted to be doing to her body. Kim pulled away and he trailed his lips down her throat, causing her to rocky faster.

"Tommy," Kim breathed as he unbuttoned her shirt. She grabbed his head and let out a loud moan when he captured her nipple in his mouth. "Oh God." She was beyond aroused and she could feel that he was too.

"God Beautiful," Tommy moaned against her chest, the vibrations sending more pleasure through Kim. "You taste so good."

Kim pulled his head away and pulled him up into a kiss; she was about to lift his wife-beater off, when her cell phone went off. She stopped with a groan and rested her forehead against his. "Damnit."

"Check it," he nodded to the phone lying on the bedside table next to the alarm clock; he tried to get his breathing under control.

"Fine," Kim sighed. She shifted off him to her knees and leaned across the bed to grab her phone. Her position had Tommy fighting the urge to grab her and finish what they started.

"Hello?" Kim said as she brushed her hair from her face and tried to control her own breathing.

"_Kim?" Hayley's voice sounded. "It's me, Hayley."_

"What's up Hayles?" Kim asked.

"_Could you do me a favor and stop at the store to pick up some glasses for me?" Hayley asked. "I'm a little swamped, so I can't go."_

"Sure Hayles," Kim smiled slightly. "No problem; I'll see you in a few."

"_Alright," Hayley smiled. "Thanks Kim."_

"You're welcome," Kim said. "Bye Hayles." She hung up before turning to look back at Tommy; she moved back to his lap and placed her arms around his neck. "Shall we continue?"

"As much as I'd love to," Tommy sighed. "And I really would, I have to get to the school and by the sound of your conversation, Hayley needs your help."

"Damnit," Kim smiled ruefully. "Just when things were getting good."

"We can pick this up later," Tommy smiled.

"We are definitely picking this up later," Kim said and she kissed him again before moving off his lap.

"Where are you going?" he asked her.

"To take a shower," Kim called out over her shoulder. "And you should probably get a change of pants."

"Damn," Tommy laughed softly to himself as he looked down at his lap; seeing the slight wetness there, he removed his shoes and did as she said. After getting his body under control, he changed out of his slacks; at the last minute, he decided against slacks and opted to wear a pair of jeans. After pulling them on, he pulled out a long sleeved shirt and put it on over his beater. Hearing the shower start, he grabbed his keys from the dresser and headed to the bathroom. "Beautiful?"

Kim pulled the curtain just enough to stick her head out. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to go," Tommy said as he walked over to her. "I'll meet you at Hayley's later on."

"Ok," Kim nodded and she leaned out to kiss him before going back to her shower. By the time she was done, Tommy had left. Smiling to herself, she picked out her clothes before toweling out the excess water in her hair. She plugged in the blow dryer and threw her towel in the hamper. Grabbing the lotion, she creamed her skin before pulling on her underwear. Grabbing the blow dryer, she dried her hair; when she was done, the pulled on a pair of pink shorts and a white, buttoned sleeveless top, similar to what she wore in high school. She pulled her hair into a half ponytail before going down the stairs. After grabbing her keys from the coffee table, she left the house, closing and locking the door behind her. Going down the steps, she went to her car and got in; starting it, she pulled out of the drive and headed into town.

After stopping at the store to pick up the glasses for Hayley, she made her way to the café. The parking lot was almost full, but she found a parking spot a few places from the door. She got out of the car and headed inside, smiling when she saw her friend behind the counter serving a few teens. As she walked over to her, she spotted Trent walking with empty glasses on a tray.

"Hey Trent," Kim smiled at him.

"Hey Kim," Trent smiled back at her; he looked around as he heard his name before turning back to Kim, a pleading look on his face. "Please say you've come to help."

"I have," Kim laughed. "And I'm glad I did as you guys look like you could definitely use the help."

"We could," Trent nodded quickly, causing Kim to laugh.

"Alright," Kim giggled. "Let me go give these glasses to Hayley and then I'll help you guys."

"Thank you," Trent released a breath of relief.

Kim was still laughing as she walked over to the counter. "Hey Hayles."

"Kimberly," Hayley smiled when she saw her best friend.

"Got something for you," Kim smiled as she held up the bag.

"Thank you," Hayley smiled in relief. "Can I ask another favor?"

"I already told Trent I would help," Kim smiled. "Just give me an apron."

"You are such a godsend," Hayley smiled; she bent under the counter and pulled out an apron and handed it to Kim. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Kim said as she gave her the bag while taking the apron. She wrapped the apron around her waist, took the pen and pad from Hayley and turned to the customers.

"Hey Kim," a young girl called out when she saw her. "Are you helping?"

"Hi Mallory," Kim smiled at her. "Yeah I am." Kim had met the teen just yesterday when she had stopped by to check out the café with Tommy.

"Thank God," Mallory said. "I guess I forgot that with school over, all the teens would need somewhere to go."

"Well," Kim said as she moved to a teen-filled table. "Better to get the business here than to have it go anywhere else."

"True," Mallory nodded before waving goodbye as she walked over to the counter to pick up her orders.

The morning went by swiftly, and with Kim's help, Trent and Mallory were able to handle all the customers. Connor, Kira and Ethan showed up just before ten and took their usual spots.

"Hey guys," Kim smiled as she walked over to them. She came to a stop next to Connor and ruffled his hair before turning to the others. "What do you guys want?"

"Blueberry muffin and a cherry milkshake," Connor smiled up at her.

"Chocolate chip muffin and a banana milkshake," Kira said.

"And you Ethan?" Kim turned to him.

"I'll have a grape milkshake and a peanut butter muffin," Ethan said without looking up from his laptop.

"Alright," Kim said. "I'll be right back." She ruffled Connor's hair once more before walking off.

"You two haven't spent that much time with each other," Ethan looked up at Connor. "I mean, it's only been, what, three days? And yet, you act so close."

"Why is that?" Kira nudged her boyfriend with a smile.

"I don't know," Connor laughed. "I mean, you're right, it's only been three days, but I don't know; there's just something about her I can relate to…it's like when you meet someone for the first time and yet you get the feeling as if you'd met them before, maybe in a past life. Maybe I did know her in a past life, I see her as an older sister, so maybe that's what she was."

"Or lover," Ethan suggested to their shock and disgust.

"Ugh," Kira and Connor said as they screwed their faces up.

"I doubt that," Connor said as a shudder wracked his body.

"I agree," Kira nodded; the thought of Connor with someone else, no matter if the person was as nice and sweet as Kimberly, rubbed her the wrong way.

"It was just a joke," Ethan snickered.

"I love Kira," Connor smiled over at his girlfriend. "More than anything and if I was going to be with anyone in a past life, it would be her."

Kira couldn't help the blush that stole across her cheeks, which happened whenever he said something so sweet to her. To everyone else, he was nothing more than a jock, but when he was around her, he was the sweetest boyfriend a girl could ever have and she was beyond happy that he was with her.

"I love you too," Kira said as she leaned over to kiss him.

"Aww," Ethan cooed. "You are so sweet."

"What's sweet?" Angela asked as she and Krista walked up to them.

"Hey babe," Ethan smiled at his girlfriend. "Hey Krista."

"Hi Ethan," Krista smiled as she sat down. "Hi Connor, hi Kira."

"Hi guys," Kira said and Connor echoed her greeting.

"Now," Angela said as she sat next to her boyfriend. "What's sweet?"

"These two lovebirds right here," Ethan gestured towards Connor and Kira.

"They are lovebirds aren't they?" Krista smiled.

"Not you too," Kira groaned while Connor chuckled.

"Here you go guys," Kim stopped before the table with a tray. She placed the drinks and muffins on the table. "Oh, Krista, Angela, I didn't see you guys there; did you want anything."

"Hi Kim," Angela said. "And no, I'm good; I'll just steal some of Ethan's."

"What?" Ethan turned wide eyes to her causing the others to laugh.

"Ok," Kim smiled. "Well what about you Krista?"

"I'm good too," Krista shook her head.

"Ok," Kim smiled at the group. "I have to go and finish up, but I'll join you guys when I'm done."

"Alright," the friends all nodded.

Waving bye, Kim walked away. After that, time seemed to fly by; Kim and Trent, the latter having calmed down from the earlier morning rush, seemed to have fun as they helped the customers. Two hours passed and Kim and the others were still working. Around twelve-thirty, Tanya showed, but she wasn't alone; with her were Adam, Aisha, Zack, Billy and Kat.

"Hey guys," Kim smiled when she saw them. "What are all of you doing here? I was only expecting Tanya." She smiled at said girl as she grabbed her for a hug.

"So I was I," Tanya smiled as she pulled back from the hug. "But they decided they wanted to come."

"Did you really think that we would pass up the opportunity to see you?" Adam teased as he pulled her into a hug. "Especially after we haven't seen you in so long."

"And this weekend doesn't count," Aisha smiled at her best friend as she hugged her.

"But what about your jobs?" Kim asked as she let go of Aisha and moved to hug Billy.

"Family emergency," Kat said as she hugged her after Billy let her go.

"All of you got away with that excuse?" Kim looked at them in disbelief.

"Yep," Zack nodded. "Now, where's my hug?"

"Sorry," Kim laughed as he lifted her off her feet. When he set her back down, her laughter had gone down to giggles. "Why don't you guys join Connor and the others while Trent and I work?"

"Alright," Billy nodded to her and the friends made their way over to the teens.

"Hi guys," Kira smiled when she saw them. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Tanya smiled as Adam pulled up a chair for the both of them. "Thanks hon."

"No problem," Adam kissed her briefly before sitting down before he turned to the teens. "So how are you guys enjoying your summer so far?"

"It's going good," Kira smiled. "Especially now that we're done with our 'job', we don't have to worry about dates being interrupted to work."

"I hear that," Zack laughed as he remembered the many dates he had with Angela that were interrupted.

"I think we all can sympathize with that," Kat chuckled.

"Especially Tommy and Kimberly," Aisha added with a laugh.

"Tell us about them," Krista said. "I mean, we've heard of how powerful they are as rangers, but not as teens."

"As regular teens," Billy was the one to start as he had known Kim and Tommy and had seen them as a couple longer than the others. "They were just as amazing; before we became rangers, Kim was a real valley girl. She was always into shopping and her hair and her talking was proof of just how valley-girl she was. She was this very perky and cheerful person; always looking out friends, always helping others. After we became rangers, the only thing that really changes was her speaking; she was and is still into shopping, she still helps others and she's still the perky and cheerful person that you know, but she no longer spoke in her valley way. Tommy, well, to tell the truth, as long as I've known Tommy, I don't know that much about his life before he came to Angel Grove. All I know is that he was adopted and he saw Martial Arts as an escape, and that he was somewhat of a loner. Kimberly on the other hand, could probably tell you all that you wanted to know about his childhood."

"What about as a couple?" Angela asked. "What were they like?"

"They were known as the Royal Couple at AGHS," Billy smiled. "It was always Kim and Tommy/Tommy and Kim, never one without the other. A lot of girls were jealous and angry at Kim for being with Tommy and a lot of guys felt the same way about Tommy for being with Kim. Don't get me wrong, Tommy was not the perfect boyfriend; he was very forgetful, shy and seemed to have this guilt thing or as Trini and Kim called it, The Oliver Guilt Complex, but to Kim, he was the perfect boyfriend and it was vice versa for Tommy. Kimberly had her faults as well, but he didn't care; in his eyes, Kim was perfection."

"Wow," Connor said. "They were really in love with each other back then, weren't they?"

"And they still are," Kat said. "I've never seen two people who are more right for each other like Tommy and Kim; they were meant to be."

"And we got to see them reunite," Ethan said. "I feel so honored."

"So do I," Kira nodded in agreement as did the other three.

"Tell us more," Krista pleaded at them and the other teens nodded; this was a chance for them to get to know a different side of their former teacher/mentor.

"Alright," Zack clapped his hands. "How about how I helped Tommy get up the courage to ask Kimberly out?"

"Seriously?" Connor turned wide eyes to him.

"Yep," Zack laughed and he told them. Time passed and the teens had been told a few more stories. By the time Kim and Trent were ready to join them, the café a lessened considerably in customers; Hayley, realizing this, decided to join her friends and made her over to the group with Kim and Trent.

"So what has all of you over here smiling and laughing like this?" Kim asked as she walked up to them. Instead of sitting in a chair, she sat down on Zack's lap and he in turn placed an arm around her waist.

"They were telling us about you guys as teens," Kira said.

"Oh?" Kim smiled. "And I guess Zack here as been telling the funnier and possibly embarrassing parts."

"Doesn't he always," Hayley teased as she pulled up a chair next to Billy, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey," Zack laughed. "I wasn't the only telling, Billy did too."

"Did he?" Kim turned to look at her childhood friend.

"They asked," Billy pointed to the teens. Before Kim or anyone could say anything, a voice behind them spoke.

"Zachary Taylor," the person said. "Would you mind telling me why my girlfriend is sitting on your lap?" everyone turned to see Tommy standing there.

Kim smiled and moved off of Zack's lap to embrace Tommy. "What are you doing here so early? It's only one-thirty."

"I finished up early at the school," Tommy said as he returned the hug. Keeping his arm around Kim, he moved to pull up a chair. As he passed Zack, he scuffed him over the head.

"Hey!" Zack laughed as he rubbed his head. "She's one that sat on me."

"I figured as much," Tommy said as he sat in the chair, pulling Kim onto his lap. "But since I can't and won't hit her, I had to hit you."

"Whatever," Zack said and the others laughed.

"Anyway," Tommy said. "I thought only Tanya was supposed to come?"

"They decided to take a sick leave," Kim smiled.

"So I'm guessing the others are coming up later?" Tommy asked.

"Yep," Adam nodded. "We talked to them before we came; they couldn't leave at the time and said they wouldn't be able to until later."

"Which Rocky was pissed about," Aisha smiled. "As he had really wanted to come."

"I can imagine him throwing a little temper tantrum," Tommy laughed as did the others. The group continued talking and after a while, Hayley, Kim and Trent got up and helped the few customers that came in. As the afternoon was winding down, the atmosphere in the café was lighthearted and warm. People were smiling and laughing as they hung out with their friends or watched the TV; forty-five minutes later things changed. The group of friends were still sitting together, the teens listening as they were told stories about the older rangers past. Things were quiet and a few people were sitting around the café when it happened; an explosion shook the ground. Gasps were heard throughout the café followed by shouts of fear and confusion as another explosion rocked the café. Kim was making her way to her friends when the first explosion shook the ground; she stumbled, hearing Tommy's cry of her name, and would've fallen if Trent hadn't caught her.

"Gotcha," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Thanks," Kim breathed out. They started again and this time, the second explosion knocked them off their feet. Before she could move, Tommy was already next to her, helping both her and Trent to their feet.

"Thanks Dr. O," Trent coughed.

"Thanks Handsome," Kim said as she held his hand in hers. She looked around at the others. "Is everyone ok?"

"Yeah," Aisha said, everyone else nodding in agreement.

"What the hell was that?" Ethan asked as he grabbed his laptop.

"I don't know," Adam answered. Before anyone could say anything else, screams tore through the air. The friends looked at each other before running towards the door.

"Be careful," Hayley called after them. "God, I hope it's not what it sounds like."

…

When they got outside, they literally stopped in their tracks; the destruction that they saw had them frozen.

"What the hell?" Connor asked.

All around them were fires; cars were flipped over or on fire, the ground was torn up in places and a few people were bleeding.

"Come on," Tommy said and the former rangers instinctively went into ranger mode.

"Krista, Angela," Kim turned to the two girls. "I need you two to get the injured people out of here; you guys might want to stay, but you can't."

"Alright," Krista nodded followed by Angela. Giving Trent and Ethan a kiss, the two girls started to move the injured back into the café.

"Let's go guys," Adam said. The group ran towards the end of the street, where everyone else was running from and they froze in shock for a second time.

"What the hell are those things?" Aisha asked.

"I don't know," Tommy whispered. Just yards away were the ones responsible for the destruction; they were creatures that were slightly pudgy with a disfigured face, and it was covered in black armor.

The former rangers looked at each other before nodding; taking a deep breath and releasing, they attacked. When the creatures saw them coming, they roared out in anger and attacked as well. Rangers and creatures met up in the middle and the fight was on.

"Whoa!" Connor exclaimed when he found himself thrown back. Before he could get up, Zack and Ethan joined him.

"Man," Ethan groaned as he moved to his feet. "These things are tough."

"You can say that again," Zack groaned as he helped Connor up.

"You guys ok?" Kira asked as she knelt next to them.

"Yeah, we're ok," Connor said as he stood up. They shook themselves off before joining the others. The fight continued on with the rangers getting frustrated as nothing they did, seemed to be able to inflict any damage to the creatures.

"It's like we nothing we do is hurting them," Kim panted out as she leaned against Tommy.

"These things are tougher than putties and tengas," Aisha said.

"Definitely," Adam said.

"I never thought I'd say this," Tanya said. "But I miss the machine bots."

"So do I," Kat agreed.

"They're stronger than anything we've ever faced," Billy said.

"But we can't give up," Tommy said. "We can't let them keep destroying everything."

"So what do we do?" Trent asked as Connor and the others walked over to them.

"What we always do," Kim answered him.

"We fight," Tommy continued. "Let's go." Nothing else was said as they attacked once more, but it was no use; no matter what they did, it seemed like nothing was hurting them…nothing was working. Before they could move, they were thrown back by a blast.

"Shit." Was the general exclamation. As the rangers tried to get to their feet, one of the creatures walked over to them. Kim was the nearest, so it got to her first.

"Destroy," The creature said as it raised its gun. The others looked on in fear and Kim did as well, but she also felt the rise of her powers inside of her. Before she could do anything however, a blast sent the creature away from her. When she looked up, she saw a guy standing there.

"Not today you don't," The guy said before he attacked.

The others rushed over to Kim, Tommy getting there first, and helped her to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Tommy asked as his hands ran over her body, checking for injuries.

"Yeah," Kim nodded. "I'm fine; he stopped it before it could do anything."

"Who is he?" Aisha asked as she stood next to Kim.

"I don't know," Kim answered. The rangers stood together and watched as the guy fought off the creatures.

"Is it me," Kira said. "Or does it seem like he knows exactly how to fight?"

"It's almost like," Tanya started.

"Like he fought them before," Kat finished.

"Yeah," Tanya nodded. As they looked on, they watched as the guy destroyed the creatures. When he did it, the rangers looked at each other before going over to him.

"Thanks for the help," Tommy said.

"Who are you?" Kim asked.

"You're welcome," the guy said. "And my name is Joey Petersen."

"Can you tell us how you destroyed those things?" Connor asked.

"And where you came from?" Trent asked.

"Yes," Joey said. "But not here; is there somewhere we can go?"

"Yeah," Tommy said. "We can go to my place."

"Alright," Joey nodded. "Lead the way."

The group made their way back to Hayley's, who had directed everyone to the hospital or to their homes and upon seeing them, came out of the café, Angela and Krista behind her.

"What's going on?" Hayley asked as she walked up to them, stopping next to Billy. "Who's he?"

"We're going to Tommy's," Billy said. "We'll talk there."

"Ok," Hayley said. "I called Jason and the others and they said they'll be here soon."

"I'll call and tell them to meet us at home," Kim said. "Let's go before the cops show up and start asking questions."

In agreement, the group headed to their vehicles, which to their surprise was still intact, with Joey and Hayley going with Kim; Kira, Ethan and Trent with Connor; Angel with Krista; Tanya and Aisha with Adam and Zack with Billy. On the drive, Kim called Jason and told him to meet them at Tommy's. Fifteen minutes later, she and the others were turning into the drive. They got out and was about to go inside when they heard more cars coming up the road; looking back, they noticed that it was Jason's and Rocky's cars.

"What the hell is going on?" was the first thing Rocky said the moment he got out of the car.

"Is everyone ok?" Jason asked he got out of the car and flew up the step, followed by Trini and Angela. "No one's hurt are they?"

"No," Kim shook her head as he pulled her into a hug. "We're all fine."

"Are you sure?" Trini asked as she hugged as well before she turned to the others.

"Yeah," Zack nodded.

"We should go inside," Kat said.

"Ok," Tommy nodded before opening the door. He allowed everyone inside before closing the door behind him. As they did the night of the prom, the friends took up their same spots, with Joey sitting in the single chair facing the others.

"What's going on guys?" Trini asked.

"We were attacked," Kim answered.

"What?" Jason and the others had looks on shock and confusion on their faces.

"We don't know what they are," Zack continued. "But these things were strong; stronger than putties…"

"Stronger than tengas," Aisha picked up.

"Even stronger than the machine bots," Kat continued. "Jase, you know how much trouble we had with those."

"I do," Jason nodded. "So, where did they come from?"

"They're called Kronobots," Joey said. "And they're not from this world."

"What do you mean?" Connor asked.

"The Kronobots are soldiers of an evil being called King Nerian," Joey said. "Neither Nerian or his soldiers are from this world…this dimension."

"How do you know that?" Adam asked.

"Because neither am I," Joey said to the shock of the entire room.

"Explain," Hayley said.

"As rangers, I'm sure the idea of parallel worlds is not foreign to you guys," Joey said, when they agreed, he continued. "Well, my dimension is a parallel version of this world, with minor differences. Nerian destroyed my Earth and the rangers that lived there; he's more powerful than any of the villains you guys have faced because he is older than them, so therefore, he has more experience and more knowledge."

"Why is he in our world?" Kim asked.

"Because the rangers in this world are stronger than the rangers in the other world," Joey said.

"What do you mean?" Tanya asked.

"Even now," Joey said. "I don't know you, but I can see the bond that's between all of you; a bond which could have gone the other way; which is what happened in my home world."

"What are you talking about?" Rocky asked.

"He's talking about what happened back in high school," Kim said to Rocky before turning to Joey. "I'm guessing that in your world, she decided not to forgive them?"

"Yes," Joey nodded. "Because of that, the rangers were split apart and the bond was never fixed. By the time Nerian attacked, we weren't really in sync with each other, so it was easy to pick us apart."

"Are you saying that if Kim hadn't forgiven us," Trini spoke up.

"You wouldn't be as strong as you are today," Joey said.

"Zordon was right when he said that the bond between us is one of the strongest he's ever seen," Kim said. "Our team started it all and every ranger team that came after us, looked up to us in some way. If our team hadn't fixed the damage between us…"

"It would've caused a discord between every team that followed," Joey finished.

"What are you guys talking about?" Ethan asked.

"Remember how we told you guys that Tommy and I broke up in high school?" Kim asked the teens.

"Yeah?" Trent nodded.

"What we didn't tell you is that," Tommy said. "Kim had wrote a 'Dear John' letter; Kat, Adam, Billy, Rocky and Tanya were there when I got the letter and the heard what it said. They got angry at Kim and refused to talk to her; at the time, what they didn't know was that Zordon had allowed Kim to teleport to Angel Grove to talk to me and we worked things out. Eventually, the others found out about the letter and what it said and they got angry at Kimberly as well and cut all ties with her."

"The only who didn't was Aisha," Kim picked up. "She didn't believe I fell in love with anyone else or that I would hurt Tommy like that, so when she called, I told her the whole truth."

"We didn't know what really happened until Tommy was kidnapped by the Machine Empire," Jason said. "But by then the damage had already been done; we had nearly severed the bond between us and at that point, Kim was the only that could fix it."

"Aisha and I were the only ones that she still talked to," Tanya said. "Mainly because Aisha never believed her and for me, well it was because I had never met her."

"But Kimberly forgave you and the bond was repaired," Kira said.

"Yeah," Trini smiled over at Kim. "And I am beyond thankful for that."

"As are we," Zack gestured to the rest of them.

"What can you tell us about Nerian?" Billy asked.

"He's very ruthless," Joey said. "And he will stop at nothing to get what he wants."

"Which is the destruction of the power rangers," Zack said.

"Unfortunately," Joey nodded. "Yes."

"And I'm guessing that we won't be enough to stop him will we?" Rocky said.

"No," Joey shook his head. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

"Which means," Tommy said. "We're going to have to contact all the former rangers."

* * *

**A/N 2: **ok, now things are moving along; the rangers get a glimpse of what they're up against. Just who is Joey Petersen and how does he know so much about Nerian? All that and more in the next chapter. Read and review.

**A/N 3: **the creatures are a lot like the Orcs in Lord of The Rings, except the stonger and covered in armor. I couldn't think of a name for them or better description and I am definitely open to suggestions on how they should look, so if you have any....


	4. Ch 3: Rangers and Powers

**A/N: **the next chapter; enjoy. Sorry it took so long.

**Chapter Summary: **the former rangers show up and is told about Nerian; Joey helps them regain their powers; the rangers get a visit from an old friend and Joey manages to make Kim mad.

**Disclaimer: **I forgot to say this in the previous chapter, but Joey Petersen is not mine; he belongs to a friend of mine.

**O.P.D.: **Sunday 2nd May, '10.

* * *

_Last time on RAN:_

"_What can you tell us about Nerian?" Billy asked._

"_He's very ruthless," Joey said. "And he will stop at nothing to get what he wants."_

"_Which is the destruction of the power rangers," Zack said._

"_Unfortunately," Joey nodded. "Yes."_

"_And I'm guessing that we won't be enough to stop him will we?" Rocky said._

"_No," Joey shook his head. "We're going to need all the help we can get."_

"_Which means," Tommy said. "We're going to have to contact all the former rangers."_

* * *

"So how are we going to do that?" Zack asked as he looked around the room. "I mean, last time I checked, two of the teams lived on a different planet."

"I'll do it," Kim said as she got up off of Tommy's lap and headed to the basement. The others looked at each other before following her.

"What are you going to do sis?" Aisha asked as she walked down the steps.

"I'll contact Andy and have him contact Leo and the others," Kim said. "Hayley, can you get in contact with the team from Blue Bay Harbor? Billy you can get in touch Wes' team, who will get in touch with Cole's team seeing as how Eric is married to Taylor."

"What about Carter's team?" Jason asked.

"You can contact them," Kim said. "One red leader to another."

"What do we tell them?" Hayley asked.

"Tell them we need their help and when they get here," Kim said. "We'll explain everything."

"Ok," the others nodded and went off to do what they were asked. Since the DT teens had teamed up with the NS team before, Hayley had gotten through to them very quickly and they had confirmed that they would be there by tomorrow afternoon. It was a little more difficult for Billy to contact Wes' team, but he did; he passed on the message to Wes, who assured him that he would talk to the Wild Force team and would get back to him on when they would arrive.

Jason had an even harder time talking to Carter's team as they all had jobs around their town; he had managed to get in contact with Captain Mitchell who told him he would try and round up the others before calling him back so that he could talk to the whole team together.

"Alright," Tommy said. "So, we've got confirmation from the Ninja Storm team and we're waiting for confirmation from Wes and Carter's teams. Kim, did you get Andros?"

"Just about," Kim said as she pulled up communications. "There."

"_Hello?" a young man with blond hair sat in a chair on the screen._

"Hey Andy," Kim smiled at the former red ranger. "It's Kim."

"_Hey Shorty," Andros smiled. "What a pleasant surprise. How are you?"_

Tommy chuckled softly when he heard the nickname; Andros was the only one that Kim allowed to call her that and that was only because she was the only one to call him 'Andy'. If anyone else called either by those names, they would find themselves on the receiving end of very harsh looks.

"I'm good," Kim smiled before she got serious. "Andy, this isn't a social call."

"_It isn't?" he asked her._

"No," Kim shook her head. "I called because I need your help."

"_With what?" Andros asked; his brows furrowed. "What's going on Kim?"_

"I can't explain right now," Kim said. "Just trust me, please."

"_Ok," he nodded reluctantly. "What do you need?"_

"I need you to get in touch with Leo and his team," Kim said. "Tell him it's a ranger emergency and that we need to know if he and his team could make it to Tommy's place…your team too."

"_A ranger emergency?" Andros asked. "Is something happening?"_

"Big time," Kim nodded. "We're calling in all the former rangers; we're all going to meet at Tommy's place and then everything will be explained."

"_All the rangers?" Andros' eyes widened with shock. "Damn; whatever it is must really be big. Alright, I'll try and get a hold of Leo; I'll tell him what you told me and then I'll have DECA set a course for Earth. I'll be in contact."_

"Thanks Andy," Kim smiled at him. "Talk to you then; bye."

"_Bye," Andros nodded before he logged off._

Kim sighed before turning back to her friends. "Ok; now that's taken care of…"

"What do we do now?" Ethan asked.

"Go out and have fun," Jason said.

"You can't be serious!" Trent exclaimed; his sentiments were echoed by his former teammates.

"You can't expect us to do that knowing that some evil is out there that wants to kill us," Kira said.

"We expect you do to exactly that," Kim said as she turned to face the group.

"Why?" Connor asked; he was a little confused as to why they would tell them to go out, especially after what they were told, but he knew that there had to be a specific reason and he wanted to know what that reason was.

"Because," Rocky said. "You guys just defeated your own evil villain not even a week ago and now, you're going to be thrown right back into it; you haven't had a chance to actually enjoy being free of the ranger duties. But the main reason why Jase said what he did is because the next few days are going to focused entirely on Nerian; as it is now, you guys have a slight reprieve and we want you to enjoy being ranger-free until it's time, because once the others are here and Nerian makes his move again, you won't have any time to relax."

"Rocky's right," Billy said. "From what Joey has said, this Nerian is by far the most powerful being to challenge the rangers and we will need to be in top form to take him on; which means, no time for dates or anything non-ranger related. I think we all should take this time and just try and relax; we should use it for fun because when the others get here, it'll be non-stop work."

"We're telling you this for your own good guys," Kim said.

The teens all looked at each other; after hearing the explanation, they couldn't really find any fault in doing what they had said. They knew it would be hard, but they did understand and they were going to at least try.

"Alright," Kira nodded, followed by the others. "But, can we do the whole relaxing thing here? I mean, I'd feel better knowing I was close by."

"Sure," Tommy nodded. "Besides, I would feel better myself knowing you guys are somewhere I can see you."

"Ok," Connor said. "We'll try and relax, it'll be hard, but we'll give a shot."

"That's all we ask," Trini said.

"I think we all should relax," Aisha said. "Let's go outside for some fresh air; no sense in staying in here, worrying about things when we won't get a full explanation until the others get here."

"Sounds good," Tanya nodded. Tommy set up the computer to alert him if they got a message and he and the others made their way outside.

_(The Moon)_

The being known as King Nerian was standing on the balcony of the former Luna Palace. After he had touched down a few days ago, he had remade the place into the way he wanted; he had destroyed Zedd's old throne and had created a new one for himself; one that reflected his appearance. Nerian might be an ancient being but what made him so deadly was his human form. His vast knowledge and power was more than enough, but because of his human looks, he is able to deceive others and they would not realize the truth until it is far too late. Nerian had two forms, his human and his true form. In his human form, he was taller than Zedd was, coming to stand at the human equivalent of six feet eight inches; he had dark hair that fell mid-back; his body was muscled with a few markings on it (_think of The Rock in The Scorpion King)_ and his eyes were black with a ring of red around them _(if you have ever seen InuYasha, think of Naraku's eyes). _He wore a cape, one long enough to touch the ground and underneath it he wore black leather pants, and his top was made out of armor. He had a staff in his hand, similar to the one that Zedd had; however, unlike Zedd's, his didn't have the Z on top. His staff was silver and had wings just a few inches from the top; below the wings was the shape of a snake coiled around the pole; about an inch above the wings, the staff extended into four points with a skull on top.

Nerian had spent the two days re-arranging the Luna Palace to suit his needs; when he was done, he created a few of his Kronobots, fusing them with his power. As the process was completing, he turned his attentions to Earth.

"All that beauty," he said to himself. "That power, that grace…all of it shall be mine; just as soon as I get rid of those troublesome power rangers."

Using his powers, he scanned the Earth to pick up where the last ranger activity was located. The smile that came over his face would have sent chills running down your back if you had seen it.

"Reefside," he chuckled. "Perfect; I'll send some Kronobots to test them…see how strong they are before I eliminate them."

He left the balcony and went inside the palace, heading to the room that held his Kronobots. He woke up just a few of them and sent them down to earth with instructions to destroy any and everything in their paths, including the rangers. He moved back to the throne room and sat down in the chair. Grabbing his staff, he held it in front of him, performing an arc before setting down at his side. The movement brought up an image, one that allowed him to see what was going on Earth. He watched his Kronobots attack the town and smiled in satisfaction as they terrorized and destroy everything in their paths. He leaned forward slightly when he saw a group of people come forward to fight. He followed their movements with his eyes and smirked when he realized who they were.

"So," he said. "The power rangers have come out to play." He continued watching the battle and laughed when he saw the way they were fearing against his Kronobots. "These are the ones that defended their planet? I was right; they will be no match for me."

He watched as the group was thrown off their feet and saw one of the Kronobots walk up to her. Just when the Kronobot was getting ready to destroy her, it was blasted off its feet.

"What?" Nerian straightened up in his seat. He followed the movement and let out a growl when he saw the reason. "It can't be; that brat followed me here, but how?"

He watched as Joey fought the Kronobots before destroying them. He let out a snarl as he moved to his feet. He paced for a few minutes before reclaiming his seat. "It doesn't matter; he will die as well."

He watched as Joey and the others walk away before banishing the image. He was silent for a few minutes before he brought the image back; he froze it on when the Kronobot was about to destroy the girl on the ground. "There is something about this girl…maybe this set of rangers will prove to be more interesting than the last."

He stared at the image for a few more seconds before banishing it; when he was done, he went back to the creation room and started on more of the Kronobots, this time making them stronger.

_(Reefside)_

The rangers were in Tommy's backyard having fun; they were determined to make the most of their reprieve. Joey had relaxed enough and was busy flirting with most of the girls, much to their amusement and the guys' displeasure. Hayley and Tommy were sitting on the steps watching the others.

"So what do you think of him?" Hayley asked. "And what he told us?"

"I'm not sure yet," Tommy answered. "But the threat is real; this Nerian guy sounds really powerful according to him and I have to admit I'm a little worried."

"I'd be worried if you weren't worried," Hayley said. "Hopefully the others will get here soon and then we can start planning."

"Hopefully," Tommy nodded. "Before he attacks again."

The two were quiet as they watched their friends; Zack, Adam and Trent were together talking about music and art; Billy, Trini and Ethan were talking about the properties of the different morphers and computer games; Krista, Kira Angela were with Kat, Tanya and Aisha laughing together; Kim was doing gymnastics while Connor and Rocky were a few feet from her talking about soccer and pranks and Jason and Joey were standing just a few away from Kim, talking silently as they watched the others. After a few minutes, Kim went back to a standing position and made her way over to Tommy and Hayley.

"Hey," Kim said as she neared them.

"Hi," Hayley smiled at her friend.

"B," Tommy smiled at his girlfriend and opened his legs slightly so that she could sit between them; only to get a surprise when she moved to sit by Hayley's feet instead. "Hey."

"Sorry Handsome," Kim laughed as she leaned back against Hayley who readjusted her legs so that Kim would be comfortable.

"She loves me best," Hayley teased Tommy.

"I see how it is," Tommy sighed before smiling. "So what's up?"

"Nothing," Kim said as she looked out at the others, her gaze coming to a stop on Joey.

"What is it?" Tommy asked seeing the way her gaze stayed on Joey.

"I can't help but wonder about his life back in his own world," Kim said. "I mean, why was it him alone that came here? What about his friends and family? He said that Nerian destroyed the rangers; does that mean he's the only that's left?"

"And is it all the rangers or just his team?" Hayley added.

"We'll never know unless we ask," Tommy told them.

"True," Kim nodded as she watched her friends again, this time noticing how Kat's gaze kept straying to Joey. "Hmmm."

"What is it?" Tommy asked; he knew his girlfriend enough to know that that 'hmmm' meant something.

"Just a passing thought," Kim said as she kept watching her blonde friend. "I'll be right back."

With a smile on her face, Kim got up off the steps and made her way over to the girls.

"What do you think that was about?" Hayley turned to Tommy.

"I don't know," Tommy shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when she wants us to know."

Kim still had the smile on her face as she approached the girls. She heard the giggling and shook her head.

"What's going on here?" she asked as she joined them.

"Oh hey Kim," Tanya smiled at her. "We're just talking about Joey."

"You are, are you?" Kim raised an eyebrow. "From where I was standing it seemed a certain someone was more interested in looking at him rather than talking about him."

"Who are you talking about?" Kat blushed as she looked at her friend; she knew that she was the one that Kim was talking about. She couldn't help it though; there was just something about Joey that drew her in.

"Funny you should be the one to ask Kat," Kim smiled. "And is that a blush I see on your face?"

"No," Kat blushed even harder while the others girls laughed.

"He is cute Kat," Kim said. "What with that blonde hair, those deep blue eyes, those dimples that wink at you whenever he smiled; I can see why you're attracted to him."

"Should Tommy be worried?" Tanya teased.

"No," Kim laughed. "Tommy knows he's mine just like I am his, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good looking guy when I see one; I am still a female you know." That caused the girls to laugh even harder, drawing looks from the boys and Hayley.

…

"What the hell do you think that's about?" Connor asked Rocky as he looked over at the girls.

"Dude," Rocky shook his head. "If there's one thing I learned from being friends with all those girls is this; whenever you see them laughing like that, it's best not to know."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Ethan said as he and Billy joined them while Trini went to the girls.

"Same here," Jason said as he and Joey joined as well. Zack, Trent and Adam, seeing the group split up, joined them as well.

"What are you guys talking about?" Zack asked as he came to a stop next to Jason.

"The girls," Rocky answered. "And how we should never ask questions when they laugh like that in a group."

"Oh, I hear you," Zack nodded. "Usually, you end up regretting asking about it."

"So," Joey said. "Any of those girls free?"

"You've been flirting with them since we came outside and you're just wondering if they're taken or not?" Ethan turned to him with a shocked look on his face.

"Hey!" Joey held up his hands. "I assumed most of them were considering how some of you were acting, but I wasn't really sure."

"All the girls, except for Kat, are taken," Trent answered.

"Really?" Joey's eyes slid over to Kat, lingering for a few seconds before looking back at the guys.

"What is that on your cheeks?" Jason teased. "Is that a blush?"

"She's cute," Joey shrugged; he wasn't above admitting that he had been attracted to the blonde the moment he saw her, but he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to pursue a relationship with her, considering he wasn't sure how his future was going to go.

"And single," Adam said with a smile. "You could go for it…unless you have someone else back home?"

"No," Joey shook his head, a flare of sadness grabbing hold of him for a split second. "No one."

"I'm sorry," Adam said when he noticed the sadness in Joey's eyes.

"It's ok," Joey shook his head. "I miss them, which is why I'm here; I can't let Nerian destroy everything you guys stand for…not like he did my world."

"Well I'm glad you're here," Jason said. "Otherwise I'm sure we would be fighting him without any knowledge about who he was and what he's capable of."

"I'll do anything to protect this world and stop Nerian," Joey looked at all of them.

"And so will we," Rocky said, looking more serious than the teens had ever seen him.

"Now that the serious, mood killing stuff is out of the way," Connor said in an effort to lighten things up. "I say we talk about Katherine and Joey."

"There's no Katherine and Joey," Joey protested. "I don't even know the girl."

"I agree with Connor," Billy said. "And that can change."

"Oh man," Joey groaned; unknown to the guys, the girls were having the same conversation with Kat.

…

"Come on Kat," Tanya looked at her friend. "He's cute; you admitted that yourself."

"I know he's cute," Kat said as she glanced at Joey before looking back at them. "But I don't even know the guy."

"So you get to know him, duh," Kim said. "How do you think people get together?"

"I don't remember you being like this," Kat looked at her friend.

"What can I say?" Kim shrugged with a half smile. "I finally have my guy back and we're going into the battle of our lives; who has time to start pussyfooting around? I say we have fun before, during and after this thing with Nerian."

"Oh my God," Kira laughed. "You sound like Connor; that is definitely something he would say."

"Who would say?" said guy said as he and the rest of the guys walked over to them.

"Kim just made a comment," Kira turned to her boyfriend. "And it sounded like something you would say."

"They say great minds think alike," Connor turned to wink at Kim.

"I don't think they meant yours," Ethan snorted.

"Are you calling me an idiot Ethan?" Kim narrowed her eyes at him, causing Joey and the original rangers to wince and shake their heads in sympathy.

"What?" Ethan's eyes widened while Connor held a hand to his mouth to try and hide his laughter. "No."

"Well that's what it sounds like," Kim said, the icy tone had Ethan flinching. "You're saying Connor's an idiot and since he said that great minds think alike and Kira said that my comment reminded her of him, then by calling him an idiot, you are in essence calling me one."

"I swear Kim," Ethan raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not calling you an idiot and I'm sorry for calling Connor one. Please, please, stop glaring at me."

"Ok," Kim smiled; her face suddenly transformed from the angry and menacing look back to her perky self.

"What?" Ethan turned shocked and confused eyes on her while the others laughed at him.

"I was only joking Ethan," Kim giggled. "I know you didn't mean anything by it."

"That was mean Kim," Ethan blushed.

"But it was so much fun," Connor laughed.

"Now I know I'm definitely standing by what Connor said on Friday," Trent said. "I am never, ever getting on your bad side."

"You'd do well to remember that," Kim smiled. She was going to say something else, but was interrupted by a loud beeping; all eyes turned to Hayley and Tommy.

"One of the others answered back," Tommy said to the unspoken question. "I'll go and talk to them; you guys can continue." With that, he headed into the house.

"Oh man," Connor bounced on his feet. "We get to meet the rest of the ranger legacy."

"You do know this isn't a social call?" Krista raised an eyebrow.

"I know that," Connor said. "But you have to admit that you're excited to meet more rangers as well."

"I am," Krista admitted with a smile. Trent threw an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her to him.

"I think we all are," Kira said as she leaned against Connor. "There's Dr. O."

They turned as one and watched as Tommy came out the house and walk over to them; Hayley got up off the step and followed him.

"What'd they say?" Adam asked.

"Carter and his team, along with the Space and Galaxy rangers, will be here in two days," Tommy said. "Ninja Storm re-confirmed that they'd be here tomorrow and the Wild Force and Time Force rangers will be here tomorrow as well."

"Good," Kim nodded as well as the others.

…

Later that night, Joey sat out on the front porch steps; the others were inside, watching TV, talking or eating. He sighed as he looked up into the sky, the stars winking back at him. Adam's question a few hours ago had caused him to remember his pain at the loss of his friends; people he had met when he was fifteen and had made him a part of their group.

"What are you looking for?" a voice asked behind him. He turned around and saw Kat leaning against the post.

"I'm not sure," he shrugged.

"Do you mind if I join you or do you want to be alone?" Kat asked; she had come out when she had noticed he was missing and Kim had given her the look, one that let her know that this was an opportunity she should use.

"Sit down," Joey gestured to the space next to him; despite his inner pain, he was a little nervous around the blonde.

"Thank you," Kat smiled as she sat down. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Why would you ask that?" Joey turned to look at her, noticing that her blue eyes and blond hair were lighter than his own.

"Kimberly," Kat turned to look out into the trees. "She sensed that something was wrong with you."

"Really?" Joey raised an eyebrow; the Kimberly in this dimension was different from the one in his own dimension. His own Kim was not that empathetic to others' feelings; he suspected it was because of the betrayal that she had experienced and knew that if things had gone differently, then she would've been like the Kim that was inside right now.

"Yeah," Kat smiled. "She has this innate sense of knowing when someone needs somebody to talk to or the right words that a situation calls for."

"She sounds like something special," Joey said.

"She is," Kat said, her thoughts drifting towards her friend. "Were you close with the Kim of your dimension?"

Joey was quiet as he thought on Kat's question and whether or not he should answer it. After a few minutes of silence, he sighed and decided to answer her. "We were like siblings."

"If that's true," Kat turned back to look at him. "Then why have you been acting like that around Kim?"

"Like what?" Joey raised an eyebrow towards her; he knew what she was talking about, but he didn't think anyone had picked up on it.

"Like you can't be around her," Kat said. "Or it's too much to even talk to her; I saw you flinch when she touched your shoulder earlier."

"You see a lot of things," Joey remarked as he turned his gaze back to the sky.

"Only when it concerns my friends," Kat gave a soft smile. "Especially Kimberly."

"Understandable," Joey nodded; he was quiet once more before he decided to answer her question. In a soft voice, he spoke. "Kim was like my sister and when Nerian came, well, I lost everything; that's why I flinched when she touched me. Can you imagine seeing one of your best friends die in front of you only to move to another place and see someone that reminds you of said best friend? Can you imagine the pain that you would feel? Please, don't ask me anything else about it or my life back there." Joey felt his heart clench in pain as he remembered his friends; the only left was his cousin.

"I'm sorry," Kat said softly. "I can't say I understand what it feels like because I don't; I can't imagine ever experiencing that. I won't ask any more questions if it'll hurt you so much to think about them."

"Thank you," Joey said, sighing when the pain eased.

"I can go back inside if you want," Kat offered; she was silently berating herself for bringing up his pain and a part of her couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be able to have a chance with him. Kat couldn't stop the blush that spread across her face as she thought that. _'Why would I be thinking about that? Snap out of it girl; he's just here to help….though it would be nice…' _Her eyes roamed over his body, taking in his hair which was darker than hers, the dimples that Kim had pointed out and the dark blue of his eyes that seemed as deep as the ocean, pulling her into its depths. Her blush heightened as she looked away quickly.

"No," Joey shook his head, a slight flush to his cheeks. "You don't have to leave." _'What is the matter with me? It's not like I've never been in the presence of a pretty girl before; so why is she affecting me like this?'_

"Ok," Kat smiled at him and he felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Ok," he said after he cleared his throat. The two were quiet after that, enjoying the silence and each other's presence, completely oblivious to the petite brunette watching them with a smile on her face.

…

The next day found the others sitting around the house and the yard waiting for the others to show up; Hayley had gone back to her café and Tommy had called Elsa and Anton to let them know what was going on, and the two had promised to be there to offer any help that they may need. It was just a little after twelve when the first group started coming. Jason was sparring with Zack a few feet from the porch while Adam, Rocky and Connor were playing a little football when they heard a car coming up the road.

"Hey," Jason got out of his stance and motioned down the road to Zack. "We've got company."

"I wonder who they are," Zack said as the two walked over to where Adam and the other two were.

"I'll go get Dr. O," Connor said and he went inside. Five minutes later, the others came out the house at the same time the cars came to a stop in the drive; stepping out was the Ninja Storm and Wild Force rangers, including Wes and Eric.

"Hey guys," Tori said as she got out of the van; she walked over to Kira and gave her a hug.

"Hi Tori," Kira smiled as she returned the hug before pulling back. "Hi guys."

"What's up man?" Blake bumped fists with Connor, as Shane and Dustin did the same with Ethan and Trent.

"Hey man," Eric said as he walked over to Jason.

"Hey," Jason nodded.

"Circumstances suck," Wes said as he joined them. "But it's good to see you guys."

"Same here," Tommy smiled.

"So," Taylor said. "What's going on?"

"The message was so cryptic," Alyssa said.

"There's a reason for that," Kim said. "But before we do anything else, how about some introductions?"

"My name is Cole Evans," Cole spoke up. "And I was the red Wild Force ranger."

"Alyssa Enrilé-Evans," the girl next to Cole spoke. "I was the white Wild Force ranger."

"Danny Delgado," a Spanish guy spoke up next. "Black Wild Force ranger."

"Max Cooper," the guy standing next to Danny said. "I was the blue Wild Force ranger."

"Taylor Earhardt-Meyers," one of the blondes spoke up. "I was the yellow Wild Force ranger and I'm also Tori's older sister."

"Wesley Collins," Wes went next. "I was the red Time Force ranger."

"Eric Meyers," he was standing next to Jason. "I was the Quantum Time Force ranger."

"Nice to meet you guys," Kim smiled before turning to the Ninja Storm team. "And you?"

"Victoria Hanson," the girl in blue said. "I was the blue Ninja Storm ranger."

"Blake Bradley," the guy next to Tori said. "I was the navy Ninja Storm ranger."

"Hunter Bradley," a tall blond spoke. "I was the crimson Ninja Storm ranger."

"Cam Watanabe," a guy wearing glassed in green spoke up. "I was the green Samurai ranger."

"Shane Clark," the guy in red said. "I was the red Ninja Storm ranger."

"And I'm Dustin Brooks," the guy next to Shane spoke. "I was the yellow Ninja Storm ranger."

"Instead of going through one by one," Trini said. "Let one person do it."

"Jason should do it," Zack smiled.

"Alright fine," Jason laughed. "I'm Jason Lee Scott and these are Trini Kwan-Scott, Zack Taylor, Billy Cranston, Kimberly Hart, and Tommy Oliver; we were the first red, yellow, black, blue, pink, green and white rangers."

"I'm Aisha Campbell," Aisha spoke next. "And these are Rocky DeSantos, Adam Park, Katherine Hillard and Tanya Sloan-Park; we were the second and third generation of rangers. I was the yellow, Rocky the red, followed by blue, Adam was the black followed by green, Kat was the pink and Tanya replaced me as the next yellow ranger."

"You guys were the original rangers," Dustin looked at all of them.

"Yep," Zack nodded. "And out of all of us, Tommy here touched the most ranger colors and powers." At their slightly confused looks, Tommy clarified.

"I was the green and white Morphin' ranger," he said. "The white Ninja ranger, the red ZEO and TURBO ranger and the black Dino Thunder ranger."

"What about you guys?" Wes turned to Connor and the others.

"I'm Connor McKnight," Connor spoke up. "And these are Kira Ford, Ethan James and Trent Mercer; we were the red, yellow, blue and white Dino Thunder rangers."

"I'm Hayley Ziktor," Hayley said. "I was the tech advisor for the Dino team; and these are Krista and Angela, Trent and Ethan's girlfriends."

"Now that we have that out of the way," Eric said. "What the hell is going on?"

"I know you guys want to know," Joey said. "But it'll be better to wait until everyone else gets so we don't have to repeat the information."

"Who are you?" Wes asked.

"My name is Joey Petersen," Joey said. "I'm a power ranger."

"Which team are you from?" Cole asked.

"None from here," Joey said.

"Before we start asking questions," Kim interrupted them. "Joey's right; it's best to wait until the other teams get here."

"Which teams?" Danny asked.

"All of them," Billy answered. "We've already established contact with them and they shall be here tomorrow."

"It must be big if all the former ranger teams are going to be here," Shane said.

"It is," Tommy nodded. "As of now, all we can do is wait and try to enjoy ourselves for the time being."

"Sounds good," Wes nodded. The girls all joined together, talking to each other about their time as rangers and everything else; the newcomers threw questions out about Joey and the new foe, but was met with shakes of heads and no answers. It was the same with the guys.

Eric and the others were curious about Joey and his answer about not being a part of a ranger team there, they were reluctant to wait, but knew that they had no choice. A few hours later, the entire group made their way over to Hayley's café where they spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing.

The next day was a repeat of the day before; it was a little before twelve when the first group showed up. Just like yesterday, the others were sitting around outside when they heard the vehicle. Looking up, they saw what appeared to be a rescue car; when it pulled to a stop next to Tori's van, seven people stepped out. The LSR rangers had arrived.

"Tommy lives here?" the guy in red spoke.

"Yeah Carter," Tommy chuckled. "I do; glad to see you guys."

"Welcome," Jason said.

"Wow," a girl in yellow said as she looked around. "Are you far enough from civilization?

"Just enough so they won't disturb me," Tommy said. "I'm guessing your Kelsey?"

"Kelsey Winslow-Mitchell," she smiled. "At your service."

That prompted the others to make the rest introductions; when they were done, Carter turned to Tommy.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Not yet," Tommy shook his head. "We have to wait for the others." No sooner had he spoke did they hear the arrival of the final teams. It was the sound of a spaceship and it had the NS and DT teens opening their eyes in awe. Sharing a look with each other, the rangers hurried to the backyard; they got their just in time to see a spaceship setting down.

"Whoa," Connor breathed.

A ramp fell from the spaceship and fourteen people walked out; they were the Space and Galaxy rangers. When they got close, Kim moved from the group and ran straight towards them; the space team laughed and moved away, while Andros opened his arms just in time to catch Kim.

"Hey Shorty," he smiled as he hugged her.

"Hey Andy," Kim replied back. She pulled back from the hug and turned to the rest. She hugged Ashley first and hugged the others, ending with Karone.

"So," Cassie said when Kim pulled back from her hug with Karone. "I take it you missed us?"

"You bet," Kim laughed as she walked over to her and looped their arms together. After the Forever Red mission, with the help of Billy, Kim had stayed in touch with the Space rangers, becoming close to them and gaining another big brother in Andros.

"So," Andros said. "What is going on?"

"Introductions first," Kim said. "And then, we get down to business."

"Sounds like a plan," Andros said. They walked over to where the others were and the group headed inside. When everyone had gotten comfortable, they got the introductions out of the way before talking about the real reason all the rangers were there. When Joey was finished, they looked at him in shock.

"So this Nerian guy came here to destroy us?" Leo Corbett said.

"Yes," Joey said. "He's looking for a power, one that he did not find on my world and I believe he will find it here, but I'm not sure."

"You'd think we'd get a break from these damn villains," Eric groused. "Why can't they learn from history and see that they always lose in the end?"

"Don't be so blasé about this guy Eric," Adam shook his head. "We fought some of his robots and we had a hard time destroying them. In fact, Joey here was the one that did it."

"How _did _you destroy them?" Tanya turned to look at him.

"They're called Kronobots," Joey said. "And to kill them, you have to decapitate them."

"Sounds easy," Wes said. "Almost too easy."

"You're right," Joey said. "It does sound easy, but it's not; these things are powerful and can defend themselves."

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news," Tori interrupted. "But, how can we fight this guy? We don't our powers anymore."

"I forgot about that," Zack groaned.

"Don't worry," Joey said. "I can help you there."

"How?" Max asked.

"In my world," Joey started. "And your world too, Zordon sacrificed himself to save the planet; when he died, his essence was felt all over the universe changing the villains back to good. The same thing happened in this world; but what you don't know is that not all of his essence went into the villains. The rest of it went into the ones he cared most about, the ones that was and would be part of his legacy."

"What are you talking about?" Dustin asked. Before Joey could answer, Kim did.

"He's talking about us," Kim looked over at him. "Aren't you?"

"Yes," Joey nodded. "When Zordon's wave went out, it went into all his power rangers; it's laying dormant inside of you and it's the way to get your powers back."

"How?" Hayley asked.

"Because I know how to do it," Joey said. "When my Zordon died, his piece of essence in me gave me the ability to find his marked rangers; before he died, he told me about it and how to use it. Since your Zordon did something similar in this world, I can see that almost all of you are marked as rangers and I can help you reawaken your powers."

The silence that came in the room was not deafening by any means, but it was loud. The rangers stared at Joey in shock and awe; said guy held their gazes, though a part of him felt like cowering away.

"When will you be able to do it?" Kim asked. "Or will you need some time to prepare?"

"No I don't need time to prepare," Joey shook his head. "I know what to do; now is as good a time as any."

"So who will go first?" Connor asked; he was sitting in front of the couch, Kim sitting on the couch above with Kira leaning into him. Kim's hand was running through his hair absently.

"Since you guys just lost your powers," Joey said. "It will be easier to do you first."

The DT teens all looked at each before looking back at Joey; Connor was the first to move. Kim's hand tightened in his hair for a split second before she smoothed his hair once more and then letting him go. He moved to his feet, his teammates following him.

"I'm not sure if this'll work," he said. "But if it's the only way to stop Nerian from destroying our world, then I'm all for it; I'm a power ranger, and being a ranger means taking risks to protect your home and the ones you love." He turned to look at Kira before throwing a glance back at Kim; when she smiled at him before nodding, he turned back to Joey. "What do we have to do?"

"Your powers came from the Dino gems, right?" Joey asked; when they nodded, he continued. "Close your eyes and focus on where your powers used to lie…focus on what made you decide to be rangers in the first place…focus on the love you have for your friends, then focus just beyond that."

"I feel something," Kira whispered. "It's like a warm blanket…it feels like protection."

"I feel that too," Connor said; Trent and Ethan agreeing after.

"That's the piece of essence that Zordon passed on to you," Joey said. "Now, see your Dino gems in your mind and call them to you; Zordon's energy in you will bring them forward."

"I suggest those in front of the kitchen door to move," Tommy said. "The gems are down in the basement."

Heeding his words, the rangers (which happened to the some of the Wild Force and Ninja Storm team) moved; just as soon as they had, five Dino gems came flying through the air and another came through the open window in the kitchen. Tommy and the others let out shocked gasps when two of the Dino gems came to rest in front of Krista and Angela, Ethan's girlfriend.

Krista and Angela stared at the two gems in shock before looking back at their former teacher.

"Dr.O?" Krista's voice wavered slightly. "Why did they stop in front of us?"

"I don't know Krista," Tommy shook his head. "But I think they were meant to."

"So what do we do?" Angela asked.

"You stand with your teammates," Jason said.

"But," Krista looked around the room. "I don't think we have what it takes to be rangers."

"The gems never would've stopped in front of you if there wasn't something in you that called to them," Cam said. "Just trust your instincts; what are they telling you?"

"To take them," Angela whispered. The two girls shared a look before moving to stand next to the other teens; when they did, Joey nodded and continued.

"Focus on the gems," Joey said. "There's a power radiating from them, focus on that and then focus on the place where Zordon's energy rests; when you feel the two, the warm the blanket of protection that you felt, push it towards the gems and allow it to fuel them. Let your instincts guide you."

The whole room was quiet as they watched the six teens do as they were told; they watched as they gems hovered in front of them, glowing brighter by the second before the gem shot into the teens making them glow in the colors. The others shielded their eyes until the light from the colors died down; when they did, it was to find the six teens in the DT suits.

"Wow," Hunter said as he looked them over; the others in the room echoing his sentiment.

The suits were different to what they originally looked like; now they looked more like they did when the rangers go into their Super Dino Mode.

Connor was the first to unclip his helmet followed by Kira then Ethan and Trent.

"Wow," Connor said as he looked down at himself. "This is…"

"I agree," Kira said as she looked herself over as well. "Ethan, Trent, what do you guys think?" when they said nothing, Connor and Kira turned to them only to look on in shock at Krista and Angela in the pink and black DT suits respectively.

"How the hell did that happen?" Connor asked as he looked at his newest teammates.

"We don't know," Angela said. "We were just sitting there and then the gems came flying up here and two of them are floating in front of us."

"So…" Krista looked at them. "I guess we're power rangers now."

"I guess so," Trent said. "Dr. O, what are they?"

"Well," Tommy said. "Angela has the black gem which means she has the powers of invisibility and the command of the Brachiosaur and the Brachio staff and based on the designs on Krista's suit, I'd say she is the Pink Stegosaurus; as for her powers, I think they might be along the lines of a protective shield."

"How do you guys feel?" Maya, from the Galaxy team asked.

"More powerful," Ethan said. "It's like our powers have tripled."

"In a way they have," Joey said. "When your powers get reawakened, they will be stronger than they were due to the fact that you now have Zordon's essence in you."

"Ok," Connor said. "As fascinating as all this is, what about morphers? How are we going to morph without them?"

"I think that between the tech advisors for each team," Billy said. "We can have morphers ready in a few days."

"That sounds good," Eric said, the others agreeing with him.

"Are the rest of you ready for this?" Joey asked.

"Sure," Wes nodded. "Let's do this; the sooner we get it done, the more prepared we can be."

And so, the rest of the day was spend with the rangers reawakening their powers; when Joey got down to the original rangers, it was already sunset. Justin had gotten an upgraded version of his TURBO powers and to their surprise, so had Kat and Tanya. Jason, Trini and Zack had their original powers back and Kim, Tommy, Billy, Adam, Aisha and Rocky were the final ones. However, to the shock of the entire room, nothing happened with them.

"Why isn't it working?" Trini asked.

"It should," Joey muttered.

"Why didn't we get our powers back?" Rocky asked.

"Because red Ape," a voice said. "Your powers are already back."

The entire room turned to the voice, only to look at the speaker in shock; the six looked at each other before exclaiming one word together;

"Dulcea!"

"Hello my rangers," Dulcea smiled at them. She walked to the middle of the room where she was grabbed into a hug by the six former ninjetti. "It is so good to see you."

"Not that we aren't glad to see you," Adam said. "But why are you here Dulcea?"

"Yeah," Aisha said. "I thought you couldn't leave the Plateau."

"I couldn't," Dulcea answered. "At least, not until Zordon died; his waved touched me as well, but I decided to stay on Phaedos to guard the temple."

"Not to be rude," Taylor said. "But could you guys please explain who Dulcea is, what Phaedos is and why she's here."

"Sorry," Kim smiled. "Dulcea is the one who helped us find our ninjetti powers; she helped us find our spirit animals."

"Phaedos is the planet that Dulcea resides on," Billy said.

"I am here because I sensed a disturbance in the universe," Dulcea said to the rangers. "I sensed the arrival of a very evil and powerful ancient being and I knew that you would need my help."

"His name is Nerian," Joey said. "And he's not from this world; he's trying to find a power, one that will make him invincible and he wants to destroy the rangers in the process."

"Nerian?" Dulcea raised an eyebrow.

"You've heard of him?" Kira asked.

"I cannot say I have," Dulcea shook her head. "But I do know what power he is after." She turned to the ninjetti. "It is one that is rightfully yours and will be immensely helpful to you if you acquire them."

"Oh man," Adam groaned. "Don't tell me we have to go on another quest?"

"Yes my little prince," Dulcea chuckled. "You have to go on another quest."

"Yes!" Rocky pumped his fist in the air. "So awesome!"

"You haven't changed at all my Ape," Dulcea laughed.

"When do we go on this quest?" Tommy asked.

"I will return for you in three days time," Dulcea said. "It has been great seeing you my rangers; it has been great seeing all of you. Zordon would be proud." She was hugged once more before she disappeared in a swirl of green lights.

"So that was Dulcea," Kat said.

"Yeah," Adam nodded.

"Three days," Billy said. "I think we should get started on the morphers before Dulcea returns and before Nerian makes his move."

"Good idea," Andros nodded; and with that he and the other tech advisors moved to the basement leaving the others in the living room and kitchen area.

Kim got up from her seat and moved to the window, her arms wrapped around her waist. Tommy looked at her before getting up and walking over to her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Are you ok Beautiful?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah," Kim leaned back against him. "Just wondering what this quest is going to be like."

"Hopefully," Tommy said. "It'll be just like last time…minus the Tengas and the dinosaurs coming back to life."

"And the rock warriors," Kim laughed. "Don't forget those."

"How could I?" Tommy grunted.

"I don't like this," Joey said, making the others turn to him.

"What?" Cole asked. "What don't you like about what?"

"Them leaving," Joey gestured to the ninjetti rangers. "We should all be together if we want to destroy Nerian."

"But going on this quest will help us," Aisha said. "The powers that we will get will help us against him; they will be more powerful than any power we've ever touched."

"Who's to say that this is the dimension the power was on?" Joey asked. "What if you don't find this power? Then what? You went off on this foolish quest while the rest of us are left here to fight."

"Excuse me?" Kim pulled away from Tommy and walked over to him. "Are you implying that Dulcea is lying or that you think we're not strong enough to gain this power?"

"Kimberly—

"Don't Kimberly me!" Kim cut him off. "Weren't you the one that said you believed that the power that Nerian is looking for is here? What makes you think that we couldn't handle it?"

"That's not what I'm getting at," Joey said. "I know Nerian and I know that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants; and that is the destruction of the rangers."

"Just because you know Nerian doesn't mean you know us," Kim said. "Or Dulcea; I trust her and I believe her when she said that the power was on this universe. I know that you had fought Nerian before but you're not in your world anymore, you're in ours. Your own words said that our rangers were stronger than yours."

"Yes but that doesn't mean anything," Joey said. "I know Nerian and these powers might not even be enough to stop him."

"It sounds to me like you don't believe that we can do this," Kim crossed her arms over her chest.

"That's not it at all!" Joey said; he couldn't tell her the real reason he didn't want her to go on the quest.

"That what is it?" Kim asked. "We are rangers and this is what we do; Connor was right when he said that being rangers meant having to take risks to protect our home and the ones we love. And that is what we're going to do."

"Just listen to me," Joey said; by now, their voices had gathered everyone else.

"I won't listen when it seems like you're trying to prevent us from doing this," Kim glared at him, her eyes suddenly shifting from red to brown causing the others to step back and Tommy to step forward.

"I just—

"You just nothing," Kim hissed. "We're going on this quest, we're going to get the powers and then we're going to defeat Nerian. I don't care if you think it's a bad idea because it is not your choice and I would appreciate if you kept your doubts and fears to yourself and stop being a fucking hypocrite!"

Her eyes glowed red before she whirled around and headed to the front door; when she got there, the door opened and the moment she stepped through, it slammed shut behind her rattling the pictures on the wall and the windows.

"What the hell just happened?" Hayley asked as she and the others stood at the kitchen entrance to the basement.

"That's what I'd like to know," Tommy turned to Joey as did the others.

* * *

**A/N 2: **ok, things are definitely moving along; all the former rangers have shown up and now they know what's going on. And, Joey has helped them regain their powers. Someone thought the old friend was Ninjor or the Masked Rider; I bet you're laughing at yourself now. *smiles*

**A/N 3: **why is Joey so adamant against Kim and the others not going on the quest? Why does he start to have doubts? And he got Kim angry; *winces* bad move Joey. Next chapter, the others will find out the real reason he reacted the way he did and Nerian's Kronobots make another appearance. How will the rangers fare against them with their new upgraded powers? Stay tuned to find out….


	5. Ch 4: Talking and planning

**A/N: **so sorry about the long wait. But it's here and I hope you guys like it.

**Princesakarlita411: **the betrayal happened in Someday; it's talked about in this story though, so you don't have to read SD to know.

**Falcon4Crane: **you will like this as it has something you wanted.

**O.P.D.: **Sunday 13th, June '10.

* * *

_Last time on RAN;_

_Her eyes glowed red before she whirled around and headed to the front door; when she got there, the door opened and the moment she stepped through, it slammed shut behind her rattling the pictures on the wall and the windows._

"_What the hell just happened?" Hayley asked as she and the others stood at the kitchen entrance to the basement._

"_That's what I'd like to know," Tommy turned to Joey as did the others._

* * *

Joey sighed as he looked at the others; he knew that he was out of bounds with the way he reacted but he couldn't help himself.

"Well?" Tanya crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you going to tell us?"

"We're waiting you know," Tommy's eyes narrowed at him; he was starting to get pissed off because the guy had hurt his girlfriend and he needed to know why he had done that before he even attempted to do damage control.

"Is this about what you told me before?" Kat asked, drawing confused looks from the others.

"Yes." Joey turned to look at her. "It is about that; I just didn't think it'd cause this much of a reaction."

"You should've known better," Kat said. "Especially considering what you said."

"What the hell did he say?" Rocky asked. "Why did you react like that?"

"You have to tell them," Kat said when she saw that Joey was still hesitating. "If you don't, you'll find yourself alienated from everyone and I know you don't really want that; in case you hadn't noticed, Kim is loved by almost every team here."

"You have five seconds to start talking," Jason said as he folded his arms.

"Ok," Joey sighed. "I'll tell you why I freaked out at Kim; it's not because I have doubts that you guys will find this power, it's because I'm afraid of what will happen on your quest."

"Explain," Trini said.

"I'm afraid that you guys, or more specifically Kim, will be hurt on your quest," Joey continued. "That's why I reacted the way I did; I don't want to lose her again."

"Again?" Connor asked with a puzzled frown on his face. "What do you mean again?"

"What was Kim to you?" Tommy asked, a slight sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach; he was slightly worried as to what Joey would say…not because he was afraid of losing Kim to him, but because he knew that he would fight for her and a fight is something they didn't need right now.

"You know I was a ranger in my own world," Joey said. "But it doesn't mean all of you were; Aisha, Rocky and Adam weren't rangers, but they were still our friends. I met Kim and the others in my freshman year; she was the first person to befriend me and she immediately included me into her own group of friends. When we became rangers, we became closer; I found myself opening up to her when I couldn't open up to anyone else, including Zordon. Aisha and I were the only ones that stood on her side when the "Letter" happened."

"Were the two of you together?" Zack asked.

"No," Joey shook his head. "She was dating Tommy; we were so close because we saw each other as brother and sister. I lost a lot when Nerian came after us, but losing her was the hardest."

"How did you lose her?" Aisha asked; a part of her was still reeling from the fact that she wasn't a ranger, but she was satisfied to know that she was still such a close part of Kim's life and no matter the dimension, she always chose her side.

"It was during the last battle." Joey swallowed a few times, having some difficulty telling his story. "A little girl was in the way, but no one saw her but Kim; she went to her and took a hit that was meant for the girl. I got to her first; I held my sister in my arms as she took her last breath."

He paused as he took a calming breath before continuing. "I'm sorry for making it seem like I doubt you guys, but I don't think I'd be able to go through that pain again. But, can you honestly blame me for reacting that way?"

He stopped once more to look at them and they could see the pain in his eyes.

"Imagine if it was you," he continued; the entire room, with the exception of Tommy, unaware that Kim had come back in the house. "What if you were in my shoes? What if you watched someone close to you get hurt…held them in your arms as they died, then you have to go to another place and you meet someone exactly like them only to find out that they're going to go on a mission that could endanger their lives."

"We can't imagine that," Kim said; shocking the group as she walked back into the room, coming to a stop in front of Joey. "We can't know or understand what you went through, we can only sympathize; but we can't let our fears rule us either. Listening to your reasoning for why you acted the way you did, I know you're scared, but you have to understand that we're rangers. As bad as it sounds, endangering our lives is a part of the job. Don't you think I would like it if I didn't have to do this? It would be the world to me if I could finally put my ranger past where it belongs and concentrate on my future with Tommy, but I can't…we can't. Because the truth of the matter is, if there is a need, we will always answer to it because it's who we are. And right now, we are needed."

"I know that," Joey said.

"Do you?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you really? Because I don't think you do. If you did, you wouldn't try and stop us from going on this quest. You think I, or we, don't know how it feels to watch the ones you love go through something, knowing you can't do anything but to let them? All of us here understand that. I'm sorry for what you went through, I truly am, and I understand why you acted the way you did, but I am not going to let that stop me…if I did, then I shouldn't be here…none of us should. Do you understand?"

The room was quiet when Kim finished speaking; they all let her words sink into their minds. Most, or rather all, of them nodded during her talk, agreeing with the points she made; they were rangers and saving lives and defending their planet from evil was what they did.

Joey looked at Kim before looking around the room, his gaze going over each of the rangers and seeing the determination on their faces; he looked back at Kim and saw that same determination on her face as well and in that instant, he acknowledge that she was right.

"You're right," he sighed. "Everything you just said is the truth; I just…I just don't want to lose anyone else."

"I understand that you lost people important to you," Kim said. "And I'm not trying to be cold here, but just because we look like them, it doesn't mean we are them. We are different; I'm sure there's something your Kim does or did that I don't do. You can't treat us how you would treat them because you don't know us. We are a team and this team is a family, one that you could be a part of, but you can't pull a stunt like you did. We don't do that; we discuss and explore all our options before making decisions…unless the situation is one where we have no time for talking things through."

"I get it," Joey nodded. "No more flying off the handle."

"Exactly," Kim smiled letting him know the serious stuff was over.

"Now that that's resolved," Hayley smiled. "Billy and the others, let's head back down; we let out a lot of energy and we need to finish masking the place before Nerian gets wind of it."

"OK," Billy nodded, as did the others, before turning to follow her down the stairs.

"Is it always this exciting?" Angela, Ethan's girl, asked, prompting the room to laugh.

"Yeah," Rocky nodded.

"Can I ask something?" Kendrix said.

"What is it?" Zack asked.

"Why did Kim's eyes flash red?" Kendrix asked. "And was it a bad thing that it did?" suddenly, everyone in the room, minus the original rangers and Joey, looked interested in hearing the answer.

"I guess I should tell you since it happened to me," Kim smiled. "Ok, here's how it goes; out of the eleven of us, eleven meaning the original rangers, Tommy and I were the only ones to truly be evil. Kat was turned by Rita, but she wasn't at the level of evil me and Tommy were, but it still happened to her. When we were under the evil spell, Tommy's eyes would flash green while Kat's would flash pink and mine would flash red. The spells were obviously broken, but the after effects still remain, so whenever Tommy and I are extremely angry, our eyes would flash green and red respectively."

"For anyone else," Jason picked up. "It might not be a bad thing, but for those two, it's beyond bad."

"How do you mean?" Kai asked.

"When I first became a ranger," Tommy said. "I was evil and I was in command of the Dragon power; after I became good, the power did as well. If I'm ever turned evil, I would no longer be Tommy Oliver but I would become Dragon, an alter ego."

"But if Dragon became good," Connor spoke up. "How can you become him when you turn evil?"

"Because Dragon is the most powerful dark power I touched," Tommy said. "And my falcon is the most powerful good power."

"For me," Kim said. "My evil alter ego is Firebird; she was the upgraded version to my Pterodactyl powers and her home was a volcano. When I'm turned evil, she comes out and she is not someone you want to mess with; like Dragon, she thrives on destruction and carnage."

"And only the two of them can turn each other back," Kat said. "If an outside force tries it (she suppressed a shiver as she thought on the last time it happened), it will only make them angrier; but, since those two are basically mates in all things including their powers, they're the only ones who can stop each other."

"Are you speaking from experience?" Kelsey asked.

"Unfortunately," Adam said, causing the others to laugh and Kim to throw a pillow at him. "Trust us when we say, you do not want to fight an evil Kim or Tommy."

"I trust you," Connor said, causing the room to erupt in laughter once more. "What? We've been told Dr. O is the longest serving male ranger and probably the best and Kim is the female version, so of course I'd trust him about not fighting either one of them when they're evil."

"Anyways," Kim laughed. "Like Tommy though, I also have a powerful good power and that's my crane. I believe though, that both Brennan and Shalimar are stronger than Dragon and Firebird."

"Ok," Trent said. "So, never get on Kim's bad side and never fight her or Dr. O when they are evil, got it; anything else?"

"No man," Tommy laughed, as did the others. "You're good."

"You're sure?" Trent raised an eyebrow.

"Yep," Tommy nodded.

"What do we do now?" Shane asked.

"I think that we should start training," Jason said. "Some of us haven't touched these powers in years and on top of that, we have to learn how to fight with someone from a different team because it would suck to be in battle with someone and not know how to work around them."

"I agree," Carter nodded.

"So how do we do this?" Ryan asked. "I mean, do we do it by colors or what?"

"No not colors," Trini shook her head. "That wouldn't be fair."

"And we can't stick it to same gender only either," Kat said. "I had to learn to spar with the boys and it helped a lot and it also helped sparring with Tanya because we learned to work together when the boys were not with us."

"Kat's right," Rocky said. "We can't just go guys on guys and girls on girls and I think it would be better if the guy and girl was paired are from different teams; like say Trini against Shane or Taylor against Carter or even Taylor against Kira…it'd be better if we did it like that."

"That sounds like a plan," Alyssa said. "So how do we do it? Do we pick names out of a hat or what?"

"Why don't we just choose someone to start with and then switch up later?" Aisha suggested.

"Alright," Taylor nodded. "I'll start with Tommy."

"Are you sure?" Max asked; he, like everyone else, knew what Tommy was capable of and truth be told, he wasn't sure if Taylor would be able of handle him.

"I'm sure," Taylor said. "He is the best out of all of us, so who better to fight against; at the very least, I'll only better myself as a fighter."

"She's right," Adam said. "Though I can understand why some of you would be hesitant to go against him."

"I'm just glad Kim and I was on the same team," Rocky said. "That way I don't have to fight her."

"Right you are man," Zack laughed. "I'm glad I don't have to fight her either."

"Hey!" Kim took the pillow from behind her to throw it at Rocky. "I'm not that bad."

"No Kim," Rocky shook his head as he caught the pillow. "You're that good."

"Which is why I'm also glad we were on the same team," Jason grinned. "I'd rather fight any other girl than you."

"Meanie," Kim pouted.

"That's what being a little sister is all about," Tori laughed. "We have mean older siblings." She knew that the rangers weren't related to each other, but she had seen the way the original rangers acted towards Kimberly from the moment she got here and she saw that they saw her as a little sister, which considering her height to the others, she could understand.

Jason, along with the rest of the original rangers, held his breath as he looked at Kim; Tori's words had hit home and they were all looking at Kim to see her reaction. Because of what had happened back in high school, Kim hadn't allowed any of them to refer to her as their little sister or her refer to them as her big brothers or sisters; this would be the first time it was brought up.

Kim looked at her friends and withheld her smile; she knew what Tori's words did to them and could see how apprehensive they were, even if the others couldn't. She let her gaze drift over all of them before looking up at Tommy, who smiled down at her in reassurance. She turned back to Tori and smiled before answering.

"You're right Tori," she said. "Older siblings are a pain, especially big brothers, isn't that right Jaylee?" she knew that by agreeing with what Tori said and also adding her nickname for Jason was her way of finally saying that they had regained her trust completely and she was once more ok with being their little sister…it was a message that they got and one that brought tears to their eyes, especially Jason's.

"That's right sis," Jason said as he tried to stop himself from crying right there from the acceptance he heard and felt in her words and her nickname for him…it was one that he had missed more than anything.

"Too true," Trini said softly; she felt as if Kim's words had set something free inside of her and looking at the other's faces, she could tell they felt the same.

For Rocky and Adam, they knew things were finally ok, despite Kim's words, when they heard the sound of their spirit animals along with Kim's, Aisha's and Tommy's; and down in the basement, Billy felt the same as he heard his wolf and the other spirit animals.

Everyone jumped when they heard the echoing roars while Kim exchanged smiles with Aisha and Tommy; they knew what those sounds meant…the Ninjetti Six were finally back in sync and nothing would separate them again.

"What the hell was that?" Leo asked.

"That was the ninjetti finally coming together," Aisha smiled as she answered. "I think that's part of the reason Joey couldn't help us access our powers."

"Wait, that Dulcea chick said that your powers were already back," Dustin said.

"They were," Tommy said. "But it wasn't complete; the reason it is now is because things are finally repaired within our group."

"All eleven of us are really close," Aisha said. "But for the six of us who are ninjetti, we're closer and it's because of our spirit animals. When we went on our first quest, the things we went through bonded us and it bonded our animals as well. The betrayal in high school broke the bond between the animals, and even though Kim had forgiven the others, it didn't change anything because she didn't fully trust them."

"But now though," Rocky picked up where she left off. "With Kim acknowledging us as her brothers and sisters is her way of saying that we earned her complete trust back and that caused the bond between us ninjetti to fully repair itself. The sounds you heard were them basically celebrating that."

"Wow," Danny said as he shook his head. "No wonder you guys are the best team; just hearing what you went through…"

"I know, right?" Cole nodded. "I think a part of it is because they knew each other before they became rangers; I mean, most of us here didn't know each other _until_ we became rangers."

"Well," Jason said. "It's late; why don't we get some sleep and tomorrow we can start with the training."

"Sounds like a plan," Mike nodded. After telling those in the basement what was going on, the others found places to lay down before falling asleep.

…

The next morning found Billy and the others back down in the basement while the rest of the rangers were in the backyard. True to her word, Taylor was standing with Tommy and the others found a partner, making sure it wasn't anyone from their own team; the exception was Krista and Angela who could choose to spar with the DT team as this was their first run.

"Alright," Jason said. "Remember, this is a training exercise, not a battle; you might be better than someone else, but don't let it cloud your judgment. You're helping each other get better."

"Let's do this," Eric said; he had chosen Kim to be his partner, wanting to see just how good she was.

With that, the training got underway; most of the older ones had paired off with the younger ones.

Taylor was having an enjoyable time with Tommy; she was throwing her all into it, and she admitted to herself that it was better than going against Eric or Wes or someone from her team. She knew that she could take care of herself, but sometimes she couldn't truly prove herself as Eric or one of the guys wouldn't truly go against her. But with Tommy, she actually got to enjoy having her partner fight back.

With the DT and NS teens, fighting with one of the older rangers was something they truly appreciated; despite the fact that they were rangers and they did a good run of it, this was the older generation and they wanted to prove themselves. They wanted to be better, but they didn't want to be cocky about it either, so they appreciated all the advice that they got and reveled in the praise.

The training was going good; the rangers would switch up between each other, making sure to stick with their rules about partnership. Eric was still with Kim and he was determined to pin her, which is something he hadn't been able to do since they started. He saw an opening, and went for it, only to find himself on his back once more.

"Damn," he said as he looked up at her. "No matter I do, I always end up on the ground. How is that?"

"Well," Kim giggled. "I could say I've been a ranger longer than you have, but the truth is—

"The truth is," Trini injected with a smile. "She was trained by Tommy and Jason, and also, Adam, Rocky and Zack."

"You sparred with Tommy and Jason?" Eric raised an eyebrow and when she nodded, he looked at her in disbelief. "No wonder."

"What?" Kim smiled as she held out her hand to help him up.

"You're good," Eric said.

"Thanks," Kim said. "So are you; good technique and form and you know how to use your opponent's body. Like Tri said, I was trained by the guys, especially Tommy and when you add in my gymnastic training as well…"

"Should we take a break?" Maya asked. "I'm a little hungry."

"So am I," Zhane nodded.

"Break it is," Jason said. "When we're done with this training, we will have to train Krista and Angela on how to use their powers."

"Sounds good." The others chorused before they collapsed where they were; they had spent the better part of the morning sparring with each other and this was their first break since they started.

The girls gathered together, while the guys sat together.

"I can't believe it," Eric shook his head.

"Still reeling over the fact that you couldn't pin Kim?" Adam laughed.

"Yeah," Eric nodded.

"Don't," Rocky said. "She did the same to me and to Adam as well."

"How did that happen anyways?" Shane asked Tommy. "I mean, what made you spar with her in the first place? We didn't do anything like that with Tori."

"It's because of Jason actually," Tommy said.

"See," Jason picked up. "I would spar with Zack all the time, and Trini and Kim would join occasionally. The only thing was, I would be easier on the two of them than I was on Zack, and Kim—

"Kim took offence to it," Zack butt in with a smile. "She wanted Jason to treat her like he would me; you have to understand, Kim was like the perkiest and friendliest girl at AGHS and sometimes people wouldn't take her seriously because of it."

"So she had wanted Jase to spar with her, really spar with her," Tommy said. "But he couldn't do it. When I joined the team, she asked to spar with me and I was skeptical about doing it, but I did; at first, I was kind of taking slow with her, like I didn't want to hurt her, but she didn't like that."

"What did she do?" Blake asked as his gaze drifted over to where Kim was before looking back.

"She…uh…she yelled at me," Tommy said as he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. "She cussed me out saying how she was tired of being treated like she was breakable and she deserved to be treated like normal. She said more stuff, a few of them were insults, and then she stormed off. A few days later I apologized, so did she and she told me that she didn't want me to go easy on her because the bad guys wouldn't go easy either."

"Needless to say," Zack continued. "That more than anything, made him spar with her better. He started slow before building up to the way he would spar with Jase."

"Hell," Jason smiled. "Sometimes it was even more intense than when I sparred with him."

"Now though," Rocky said. "Tommy here is the only one of us that will seriously spar with her. I mean, if she wants to spar just for fun or downtime, we'd do it, but when she needs some action…she goes to Tommy."

"She's really that good?" Hunter asked.

"Yes she is," Tommy nodded. "If you don't think so, you can always spar with her."

"Nah," Hunter shook his head. "I'll take your word for it."

"You do that," Shane laughed and his words caused the others to laugh as well.

"Wait, wait, wait," Dustin said. "You're saying that what she did with Eric is not even anything?"

"Yep," Adam nodded.

"Whoa," Dustin breathed.

"I know," Tommy smiled.

"What about the others?" Connor asked. "I mean, are Trini, Aisha, Kat and Tanya just as good?"

"They're good," Jason said. "But to compare them to Kim is like comparing, well, like comparing you to Tommy or you to any one of us older rangers."

"Tri and the other girls were fine doing the little sparring," Rocky said. "And truth be told, we didn't really do any sparring during the ZEO and TURBO era; any fighting we did was in battle, where we basically followed our instincts and our powers, so Kat and Tanya are nothing compared to Trini and 'Sha."

"I think the reason that Kimberly is better," Billy said as he and the other guys joined them. "Is because she is more in tune with the powers than any of us, save for Tommy."

"You think so?" Trent said as he looked at him.

"I don't think so," Billy shook his head. "I know so; remember we told you Kim could do things with the powers we didn't think of and I'm sure Tommy, that if you had had the chance, you would've done the same things she's done. Regardless of that fact, I know that you _can_ do that, as both of your powers are connected."

"Wow," Kai said and the others silently agreed with his sentiment.

_(With the girls)_

"I can't believe Eric couldn't get a pin on you," Tori said to Kim.

"After hearing that both Jason and Tommy trained her," Taylor said. "And after sparring a bit with Tommy, I could see how she'd be able to."

"But still, no offense to you because I know that we girls can kick ass," Maya said. "But I just can't believe that you could fight against Tommy and match him."

"I get what you're saying," Dana said. "I mean, Kim from what I've seen and heard about the original rangers, you're like the ultimate stereotypical pink ranger; you're perky, cheerful and sweet. You're kind to everyone you meet, so it's kind of hard to hear and accept that you could do what you've done—

"And to see and hear of the way you got Andros to help Hayley," Kira said. "It just doesn't go with the image you present."

"Which is why our enemies are so shocked when they realize what she can do," Trini smiled; she was so proud of Kim and the things she could do. She knew that others might have gotten jealous, but she wasn't…she never had been and she never will be.

In her mind, if she was meant to do the things with her powers like Kim could, then she would've; all of it just showed her what she already knew, Kim was special and it was even more so when she was with Tommy. The two were truly meant to be and they brought out the best in each other.

"We're so proud of our little crane," Aisha laughed.

"That we are," Tanya smiled as she threw and arm around Kim's shoulders, while Kat's arm went around Kim's waist.

"Guys, you're so embarrassing," Kim groaned.

"And yet you love us," Kat teased.

"I know," Kim sighed before she laughed.

"You know what I think would be awesome," Krista said suddenly, a mischievous smile on her face.

"What?" Alyssa asked.

"To see Kim and Dr. O spar," Krista finished.

"Yeah!" was the immediate reply from the rest of the girls.

"Guys," Kim said. "This is supposed to be a training exercise—

"And it is," Angela cut her off with a smile. "What better way than to see the two most powerful rangers go at it?"

"I agree Kim," Kat said. "What better way indeed."

"Shut up," Kim said half-heartedly.

"Come on Kim," Karone said. "Please?"

"Alright fine," Kim sighed. As the girls all cheered, the boys looked over at them, most raising an eyebrow when all the girls walked over.

After explaining why they had come over, the rest of the guys got as into as the girls were and Kim and Tommy decided to do what their friends and teammates wanted.

…

Meanwhile, up in space, Nerian was in one of the chambers marking the progress of his Kronobots. Yesterday, while he was in the chambers, he had felt a surge of power; he had rushed out to check on it, but the time he got there, it had disappeared.

Looking at his robots, he smiled and it was menacing. "I have no doubt that power surge was from the rangers, however, it is of no importance to me as they will be no match for my Kronobots or for me."

He may be a villain, but he wasn't stupid; he hadn't gotten as far as he did, but underestimating his enemies. He knew the rangers would have some power, but he also knew that he had more power and knowledge behind him and they would be no match for him.

"Soon," his voice sounded in the room. "Soon my Kronobots will be ready and the rangers will be destroyed and the Earth shall fall to my rule."

With one last look at his Kronobots, he left the chamber and headed out to the main room. He went to the balcony and looked out at the Earth. He was evil and he knew that, but he still saw the beauty of the Earth as he looked at the planet and in his mind, they didn't deserve it…just like the rangers deserved to die, the planet deserved to be under his rule. And when he captured it, he would be the most feared being in the entire universe.

He was disturbed from his thoughts by an alarm; turning, he made his way back to his chambers and saw that some of his Kronobots were almost awake. The only ones not moving were the ones he knew would be stronger. The ones that woke up came to a halt in front of him in a straight line.

"My Kronobots," Nerian spoke. "Your mission is to attack and destroy the town; draw the rangers out and then attack them."

The Kronobots gurgled in response before he waved an arm over them sending them down. He turned and went back to the main room to watch the attack.

_(Back on Earth)_

After Kim and Tommy had their little sparring session, the rangers had divided themselves up once again; this time, they were going to help the two newest members with their powers. Because of the situation they were in, the girls quickly learned how to bring their power forward. All they had to do was learn it enough so that it became second nature to them.

Krista had just dissolved the shield she had created when they heard the alarms going off in the basement; sharing a look, the rangers rushed there.

"What is it?" Carter asked.

"Kronobots are attacking downtown," Tommy answered.

"We have to stop them," Alyssa said. "But who should go?"

"Definitely not all of you," Hayley said as she worked on the computers. "Nerian doesn't know about this gathering and it would be wise to keep it what way for a while. With that said, I think it should be the DT rangers along with Joey that go out there."

"Why?" Cole questioned.

"Because," Joey said. "The DT rangers are the ones that just got over their own battle not too long ago and whatever knowledge he has of this time, he would know that they would be here."

"The only problem is," Jason picked up. "Is that Angie and Krista can't go."

"What?" Max asked. "Why?"

"Because they just became rangers," Cam picked up once he realized what Jason meant. "And while it would be good to give them the experience, which is how we learned, they still need to be fully familiarized with their powers."

"And bedsides," Kim said. "We have enough rangers here to take their place and they can observe and train some more."

"So who's going to replace them?" Andros asked. "We need a black and a pink."

"Well," Billy spoke up. "Adam and Zack are the only two blacks here, but since Adam can't go—

"It'll be me," Zack said with a smile on his face. "Alright, finally some action."

"Easy bro," Jason laughed even though he understood Zack's reaction. It has been years since they touched the power, but they were Zordon's kids and they were excited to jump back into battle once more.

"Choose a pink so we can go," Zack said, practically bouncing on his feet in excitement.

"He's a little too excited to do this," Kira whispered to her teammates. "Considering he hasn't been a ranger in years…you'd think it would've made him more cautious."

"Think we'll be that way?" Trent whispered back.

"I hope so," Ethan answered with a smile.

"I don't think we need a pink," Trini said.

"Why not?" Taylor turned to look at her.

"Because," Trini continued. "Like Joey said, Nerian would have knowledge of the team, which means, he would know that they didn't have a pink ranger."

"So that settles it then," Connor said. "Zack and Joey are going with us; we better leave now before these robots do any more damage."

"Teleportation system is up and ready," Billy said. "Just morph up guys."

The others cleared away as the six got in the middle of the room.

"Ready?" Connor asked.

"Ready." The others answered.

"Dino Thunder, Power up!" Connor, Kira and Ethan shouted as they morphed.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!" Trent shouted as he morphed into his suit.

"Mastodon!" Zack shouted as he morphed.

"Shift into TURBO!" Joey shouted last.

Lights surrounded them and when they cleared, six morphed rangers stood there.

"Ready for teleporting," Connor said.

"Alright," Billy nodded as he pressed buttons on the computer. "Teleporting now."

Within seconds, the rangers were gone and the others turned to the computers.

…

When the others touched down in town, they were slightly shocked at the amount of damage that the robots had managed to do. Sharing a glance, they quickly got into things; while Zack, Kira and Trent helped the civilians out of the way, Connor, Ethan and Joey attacked the Kronobots.

"Remember," Joey said to the other two. "The only way to destroy them is to take their heads off."

"Got it." Connor and Ethan nodded as one.

"Let's do this," Joey said.

They ran towards the robots, pulling out their blasters as they did so. The Kronobots saw them coming and changed their course from attacking the civilians to the rangers.

The two sides met in the middle and with no hesitation, attacked each other. The fight was intense and the rangers found that they had a hard time getting an edge on the robots. One of the Kronobots fired a blast at them. The rangers jumped out of the way and as they rolled to their feet, the other three joined them.

"I didn't think it'd be this tough to get their heads off," Ethan said.

"It is," Joey nodded. "They know it's their weakness, so they don't make it easy for it to happen."

"Well we'll make it happen," Connor said.

"Damn straight," Zack added.

"Incoming," Trent said and they dodged the blasts from the robots before jumping back into the fight.

Ethan was fighting against two Kronobots and had to use his strength to fend them off. He grabbed one by the arm before he twisted the arm, breaking it off. He kicked it to its knees before he used his strength to rip its head clean off. The robot exploded the moment he did. He turned to the other one and ducked a blow to his head at the last minute. As he fought it, he saw one of the robots advancing on Kira. Grabbing the one in front of him, he threw it towards her.

"Move Kira!" he yelled out before going over to help Trent.

Kira, who heard Ethan's yelling, ducked out of the way just in time for the robot to fly past her and knock into the one she hadn't realized was behind her. She let out her Ptera scream and blew them into the side of a building on the side of the street. She turned back to the other, but couldn't duck away from the blow and fell to the ground. She quickly got back to her feet, though she could feel the pain in her stomach from the blow, and kicked the Kronobot away from her.

"Ptera Grips!" she yelled out and smirked as she felt the familiar weight of her weapons her in hands. She ran to the robot, slashing it with her knives; she tried to get close enough to remove its head, but found it hard to do.

"Man," She growled. "Joey, you were right about these things protecting themselves."

"I know," Joey answered. "Just outmaneuver them until you get a clear shot."

"Will do." Kira nodded, though he couldn't see her. She kept fighting, hoping to get a clear shot, but it wasn't easy.

'_As much as I love my knives,' _she thought to herself as she kicked one Kronobot and dodged the other. She flipped out of the way of a blast, landing on her knees. _'I could definitely use a sword right now; these knives are too small to actually do what needs to be done.' _

She moved to her feet, but stopped in shock as her Ptera Grips flew from her hand to hover in the air in front of her.

"What the hell?" she felt a shift inside of her and realized that she was slightly glowing yellow as were the Ptera Grips. To her amazement, the two knives came together and the light surrounded them, blocking them from view; when the light cleared away, a sword was hovering where her grips were. It had, what looked to be wings at the end of the blade and the grip was in the shape of teeth; the whole thing was yellow.

"Whoa." Kira breathed as she looked at it.

…

"I think Kira just tapped into her powers," Hayley's voice was amused as she watched the screen.

The others came over and saw what she was talking about.

"Nice," Blake nodded.

"That will definitely help her out," Hunter said and the others agreed.

…

Not wasting any time, Kira grabbed the sword. She swung it at the approaching Kronobot and grinned as it took the head clean off. She moved away when the body exploded and focused on the other. Emboldened by the feel of the sword in her hand, Kira attacked more ferociously that she did before. She destroyed the robot before making her way over to Connor.

"Hey Jock," she called as she came up to him. "Need a hand?"

"From you?" Connor asked as he kicked a Kronobot coming up behind her. "Always."

The two worked around each other, attacking the robots as they got near, drawing looks from those watching and nostalgia from the original rangers.

"It's like watching a second Kim and Tommy," Zack shook his head. Back at Tommy's, Jason and the other originals agreed.

Ethan and Trent were also working together. Whenever one would make a move, the other would make a similar one. They took out a few of the Kronobots, before moving to where the others were.

"Let's end this," Joey said.

"Right." The four teens said. Connor summoned his sword, Ethan his lance, Kira still held her sword, Trent had his Drago sword, Zack held his Axe and Joey held his TURBO Blaster.

The six of them attacked and destroyed the remaining Kronobots, though not without any damage to themselves. When the last Kronobot was destroyed, they looked at each other before teleporting back to base.

When they landed, they de-morphed and sagged in pain and relief.

"That was harder than I expected," Ethan groaned as he and the others moved to sit down.

"You guys did good," Rocky said and the other rangers agreed with them.

"Kira," Trini walked over to the fellow yellow rangers, followed by the other female yellow rangers. "That sword was awesome."

"I know!" Kira beamed up at her despite the soreness in her body.

"You're a good addition," Taylor smiled at her. "You're doing us yellow girls proud."

"Thanks," Kira smiled with a flush on her face.

"How was it?" Jason turned to Zack.

"Man," Zack bounced in excitement. "It was unreal! It was such a rush! You'll like it bro."

"I can't wait!" Jason bumped fists with him while Angela shook her head at the two of them.

…

Up on the moon, Nerian used his powers to freeze frame the battle and focused on the six rangers. He brought the screen close and focused on the black ranger and one of the red rangers.

"Interesting," he mused. "The designs of these two rangers are significantly different from the other four."

He unfroze the frame and focused on the different red ranger.

"It can't be." He looked closer at the film and followed that familiar movement of the ranger. "It is. So, he followed me here; well, no matter. His presence makes no difference. The rangers will still be destroyed."

He then focused his gaze to the black ranger and saw the differences.

"The suit is similar," he said. "But it is not the same. It is older." He stopped as he remembered the power surge he felt before. "Could it be?"

He watched the clip before stopping it. When he was done, he got up and walked out to the balcony. He thought over everything that happened since he got to the dimension and things that happened in his own. Thinking back to the fight, he thought on the different black ranger and Joey's appearance and on the power surge.

"So," He looked down at the earth. "It seems that there are more rangers in town than I thought. I will have to draw them out before making any more plans."

He went back to his room to create more Kronobots.

…

The next day, most of the rangers were relaxing around the house. Kim and the girls went over to Hayley's, while Trent went to his dad to let him know what was up.

"I can't believe how much I miss just relaxing," Kira groaned as she sat down in a chair.

"I know," Taylor nodded as she took a seat on the coach, Tori sitting down beside her before she placed her head on her sister's shoulder. Taylor smiled before reaching up to rub her head; in response, Tori played with her hair.

"So," Angela W, Zack's girl, turned to Aisha and Kim. "Tomorrow you guys are going to leave for your quest. How do you feel?"

"Honestly?" Aisha exchanged looks with Kim. "We're kind of excited."

"It's been years since we've been to Phaedos and we really would like to see it again," Kim said. "And, it'll be interesting to see what happens on this quest."

"True," Aisha nodded. "I believe it'll definitely be different than the last one."

"What do you guys think of this Nerian guy?" Maya asked.

"I don't know," Dana shook her head. "It's bad because we can't don't have any information on him in this world; only Joey does and from what he's told us, this guy could be serious trouble."

"She's right," Alyssa said. "I mean, look at how hard it was to destroy the K-bots."

"K-bots?" Krista asked.

"Some of the guys were messing around earlier and they decided to nickname the robots K-bots," Alyssa clarified.

"Sounds cool," Kim smiled. "Although, why do I have the feeling that Rocky was somehow involved in this?"

"He was," Ashley smiled. "And so was Zhane."

"It doesn't surprise me," Kat laughed.

"So Kat," Tanya turned to her friend. "What's been happening between you and Joey?"

"Me and Joey?" Kat blushed as she looked away quickly. "There's nothing happening."

"Why not?" Kim asked. "We know you like him and from the looks of things, he likes you as well."

"I don't know," Kat admitted shyly. "I mean, I'd like to."

"Then why don't you?" Karone asked.

"Kat listen," Kendrix leaned forward. "We are rangers and we have these amazing powers, but that doesn't mean anything. Right now, we're about to go into what is turning out to be the biggest battle of our lives; we don't have time to waste."

"I know," Kat said.

"I lost my life once Kat," Kendrix continued. "And that woke me up. Life is short Kat and you need to capture happiness whenever you can."

"She's right Kat," Hayley said as she walked over to them.

"So you're saying I should just go up to him and tell him how it is?" Kat asked the girls.

"Yes!" all of them responded as one.

"Alright, alright," Kat laughed as she held up her hands.

"Good," Kim smiled.

"Girl," Aisha said. "That boy better be yours by the time we get back from our quest."

"I hate you guys," Kat groaned as she covered her face.

"We love you too," Trini smiled.

The rest of the afternoon, the girls helped Hayley out before they left to go back to the house. When they got there, they saw that Anton and Elsa were there as well. Trent had explained everything to them and they had come to offer their help. Anton offered to stay with the techs in the basement, while Elsa would take over for Hayley at the café.

It was in the evening when Kat decided to take the girls' advice. Joey was sitting in the kitchen with Tommy, Jason and Adam and Kat took a deep breath before she walked in.

"Joey?" she called. "Uhm…can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure Katherine," Joey nodded as he stood up and walked over to her.

"Outside?" Kat asked again.

"Alright," he nodded once more and followed her out.

The two passed the others in the living and Kat hid a blush from the knowing look on the girls' faces.

"So," Joey turned to her once they were outside. "What do you want talk about?"

"Ok," Kat let out a nervous breath. "I don't really do this as I'm not really this forward; but, I was convinced by my friends that I should take the chance to find out if anything could happen."

"What are you talking about Katherine?" Joey asked her.

"This," Kat said before she leaned up and kissed him. It lasted about a minute before she pulled back. "I like you Joey…a lot."

When he just looked at her, Kat felt her nervousness increase, but she didn't let it stop her.

"I know we've only know each other a few days," She continued. "And I know that we should probably get to know each other better, but I can't help how I feel. It's different because I feel different. You probably don't like—

She was cut off by his lips on hers. This kiss lasted longer than the first one and when they pulled back, they were smiling at each other.

"I like you too Kat," Joey said as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Believe it or not, if you hadn't said anything tonight, I would've. The guys spent the entire afternoon telling me I should go for it."

"The girls did the same for me," Kat smiled. "So, does this mean we're together?"

"Yes it does," Joey smiled. "And I think we should celebrate with a kiss."

"I think that is a great idea," Kat said before they kissed once more. Minutes later, they pulled apart to cheering from inside the house.

"Oh my god," Kat chuckled as she buried her face in his chest in embarrassment.

"It's fine," Joey laughed. "Come on, let's go back in."

"Alright," Kat said as they turned to go back inside. When they got to the door, they kissed once more before going inside.

"I guess you couldn't wait that long," Kim teased, referring to Aisha's earlier warning.

"Nope," Kat shook her head with a smile.

"Finding time in the middle of battles for romance," Jason shook his head with a smile.

"I blame Kim and Tommy," Billy smiled. "After all, they were the ones that started it."

"Whatever," Kim laughed.

"Time for sleep," Tommy groaned as he got up out of his seat.

"But it's still early!" the DT and NS teens protested.

"You guys can stay up," Tommy said. "But we don't know what time Dulcea will show up tomorrow and I want to at least get some decent hours of sleep."

"He's right," Adam nodded as he stood up as well, followed by Aisha and Rocky.

"Hopefully we'll see you guys before you leave," Trini said.

"I think you will," Kim smiled as she let Tommy pull her up. "Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight." The room called back as they watched the six rangers go up the stairs.

…

The next morning, the ninjetti rangers woke up around ten-thirty to the smell of breakfast. After taking their showers, they went downstairs and saw Hayley and Trini, along with most of the girls, in the kitchen.

"Morning guys," Kelsey called when she saw them.

"Morning." They responded.

"Thanks for this," Kim said as she sat down.

"You're welcome," Hayley smiled at them.

"You guys didn't have to do this," Billy said.

"We know," Trini said. "But we wanted to."

"Are you guys dressed right for the trip?" Karone asked as she looked them over.

Both Kim and Aisha were wearing pink and yellow shorts respectively; Kim had a white tank top on while Aisha was wearing a red and yellow hoodie. The boys were wearing sweats; Tommy was in all white, Billy in blue, Adam in black and Rocky in red. All in all, their outfits were similar to what they wore the first time around.

"Yeah," Rocky nodded. "Phaedos is kinda humid, so it's better for us to wear these."

"Plus," Adam added. "They're loose, so it gives us more breathing room and makes it easier for us to move."

"Oh…ok," Karone nodded. The rest of the rangers joined them and the friends enjoyed breakfast. Twenty minutes later, they were all in the basement when Dulcea showed up.

"Greetings rangers," she smiled at all of them.

"Dulcea," Aisha smiled as she moved forward to hug her.

"My little bear," Dulcea smiled. "I trust you are ready?"

"Yep," Rocky nodded. "Even dressed comfortably."

"I see that young ape," Dulcea laughed. "Gather round so that we can be off."

The six ninjetti formed a circle around, much like they had done to bring Zordon back the first time around, starting with Kim and ending with Tommy, Dulcea between them both.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

The ninjetti looked around at the faces of the rest of their family, seeing the support there, before looking at each other. They nodded as one before turning back to Dulcea.

"Ready." They said.

Dulcea held out her arms, the ninjetti following her; the hands touched and each ranger started glowing their colors with Dulcea glowing gold. The colors brightened, making the others shield their eyes from the light.

Seconds later, they removed their hands. The light had disappeared and so had the seven of them.

"Good luck guys," Kira said and the others echoed her statement.

* * *

**A/N 2: **ok, now you guys know why Joey reacted the way he did. And the others have finally earned Kim's trust back.

**A/N 3: **Nerian figured out what was going on despite they not wanting him to; and now the ninjetti have left for their quest, which is what next chapter's going to mostly be about.

**A/N 4: **life gets in the way, but I will try and get the next chapter out sooner than this one (under a month). I am excited to write about their quests. Sorry, no sneak preview. Remember to read and review.

Much love, Kila.


	6. Ch 5: Battle for the Power

**A/N: **so sorry about the really long wait guys. But I hope this chapter more than make up for it. It's the longest so far

**F19: **I'm glad you like my story; with that said, it's obvious that you haven't read the prequel to this story and you obviously haven't read the A/N's about this story being an AU, which means it doesn't really follow canon storyline. Now, if you had read the prequel, which is called Someday and can be found on the site, you would understand why Kim is the way she is. I suggest you read that story before reading this before you decide to tell me I overrated a character.  
**MaxKnight1010101: **I blushed a little when I read your review; I'm glad you think so highly of my stories.  
**Mae-E: **I loved the comment Billy made as well; I initially wasn't going to write it, but I did and when I went back over, it fit perfectly. *smiles*

**A/N 2: **I love the fact that everyone loves the scene between the original rangers and Kim showing them they finally earned her trust back. Loved all the reviews, all the alerts and all the favorites. Enjoy.

**O.P.D.: **Saturday 21st, August, '10.

* * *

_Last time on RAN:_

_The ninjetti looked around at the faces of the rest of their family, seeing the support there, before looking at each other. They nodded as one before turning back to Dulcea._

"_Ready." They said. _

_Dulcea held out her arms, the ninjetti following her; the hands touched and each ranger started glowing their colors with Dulcea glowing gold. The colors brightened, making the others shield their eyes from the light._

_Seconds later, they removed their hands. The light had disappeared and so had the seven of them._

"_Good luck guys," Kira said and the others echoed her statement._

* * *

When they light cleared, the seven found themselves once more on the plateau. They looked around and saw that Phaedos looked better than it did the first time around. The ruins looked no longer like a graveyard, but more like an open temple. Looking out, they could see the green of the trees and could even see that the area where they had landed the first time was no longer littered with bones. Phaedos had become a beautiful sight.

"Whoa," Rocky breathed as he took in the sights. "Uhm, no offense Dulcea, but this place looks better than it did before."

"None taken my ape," Dulcea smiled. "And that is thanks to Zordon; his energy wave helped restore some of Phaedos' beauty."

"I wish I had brought a camera," Aisha said. "The others would love to see it."

"I know right?" Kim agreed.

"So Dulcea," Billy said. "How are we doing this? Will it be the same as last time?"

"Not completely," Dulcea shook her head. "Before we go any further, it's time for you to fully reconnect with your spirit animal. Gather round."

The six did as they were told, forming a circle around the fire. Dulcea grabbed the pouch from her waist, and dipped her hand in it. She pulled it out, holding some of the dust in her hand before throwing it over the fire. As the flames build up, she turned to look at the rangers.

"Close your eyes," She instructed. When they did, she continued. "Ten years ago you stood before me and you found your animals; the bear, the ape, the wolf, the frog, the crane and the falcon. You were teens then; today, you're adults and you stand before me once more to reconnect to that which you had lost.

"Look inside you. See how you have changed from the teens you were to the people you are now. You are stronger and it is time to show that. Focus on inner selves; on where your powers from Zordon's energy lie…focus on your animals and bring them to the forefront of your mind. Concentrate rangers, concentrate and call them forth."

The six were quiet as they listened to her. They followed her instructions and searched through themselves. For Kim, Aisha and Tommy, they found their animals with ease; Billy, Rocky and Adam took a second longer before they found theirs as well. They called them to them and as they touched, they felt the sudden reattachment of their animals. It caused their eyes to jerk open.

Dulcea smiled as she saw the six animals emerge from the smoke and circle the rangers. She walked over to them and stopped in front of Billy.

"Swift, cunning and loyal," she said. "You are once more the Blue Wolf."

She moved to Adam. "Silent, graceful and just, you are the Black Frog."

"Rocky," she smiled as she stopped in front of him. "Strong, creative and playful, you are still the Red Ape."

"You are still the Yellow Bear," she turned to Aisha, "mighty, ferocious and protective."

"Tommy," Dulcea looked up at him. "Before you were shy, but now you are strong and you fly with confidence. Fierce, able and swift, you are the White Falcon, the Winged Lord of Skies."

"Young Kimberly," Dulcea smiled at Kim as she smoothed her hair back. "You have been through more than the others. Tommy is the strength, and you my dear are the heart and soul of your family. Behind every great man, there needs to be an ever greater woman."

"Damn straight," Aisha said which caused them to laugh.

"You are agile, you are graceful and like Tommy, you are fierce," Dulcea continued. "You are the Pink Crane, the Winged Lady of the Skies."

Kim smiled as she listened to Dulcea's words. She knew irrevocably that she and Tommy belonged together and to feel them now, only cemented that thought.

"As you have grown," Dulcea said. "So have your animals grown with you. You are the Ninjetti."

The rangers looked down, a happy feeling in their bodies as they saw that they clothed in the familiar ninja garb.

"I never realized how much I missed this," Tommy said as he palmed the falcon crest on his chest.

"Same here." The others echoed.

"So," Rocky said. "Do we leave immediately like last time or…"

"While I would love it would be imperatitve that you guys leave right away," Dulcea said. "It is best you wait. I must tell you about your quest."

"It won't be the same as last time?" Adam asked.

"The people that are standing here today," Dulcea said. "They are different from the teens that stood here ten years ago."

"So what's different about the quest?" Aisha asked.

"This quest is two parts," Dulcea explained. "For the first part, you will have to face your greatest fears and it will be an individual task."

"We'll be separated?" Billy asked.

"Yes," Dulcea nodded.

"That doesn't sound too hard," Rocky said.

"I wonder if it'll be anything like Rita's Island of Illusions," Billy said.

"Somehow," Kim shook her head. "I doubt that."

"You are right Kimberly," Dulcea said. "It will not be that easy. You are no longer kids which means you're fears are no longer childish. Whatever fears you had to face with Rita, they will be nothing compared to what you will have to face on this quest. Those fears were surface fears…this quest will search for your true fears."

"And the second part?" Tommy asked. "What will that be?"

"The second part of the quest will only happen if all of you overcome the first part," Dulcea explained. "When that happens, the test will be a group test. Succeed, and you shall gain your true powers…you shall gain the powers of the Ancient Ninjetti."

"It'll be worth it," Aisha nodded. "We won't fail."

"Good," Dulcea nodded. "I have faith in you."

"We can rest now and start out early morning," Tommy said.

"Sounds like a good idea," Adam said.

The friends moved from around the fire while Dulcea reined it in enough so that it was no bigger than a campfire.

Tommy walked over to the edge of the plateau, much like he did last time, and sat down on one of the rocks there. Seconds later, Kim joined him.

"What are you thinking of?" she asked.

"This quest," he answered. "And everything else. I'm worried about the others back home, but I know they'll be able to handle themselves."

"Yes they will," Kim replied as she leaned against him. "Have faith in them. Now, what is it that you're thinking about this quest?"

"Just how different it will be," Tommy said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "From Dulcea's words, it will be harder than the one we went through."

"As it should be," Kim looked up at him with a smile. "The power we're after is so much more than what we touched before; of course it's going to be harder to get it…if it wasn't, I'd be worried that it wasn't worth it. But, I have faith in everyone here that we'll be able to get through our fears and come on top."

"I love you, you know that?" Tommy chuckled as he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. "You always seem to know what to say."

"I feel the same way about you," Kim smiled. "What do you think the fears are going to be?"

"I don't know," Tommy shrugged. "It's hard to tell with me because I've had so many things happen in my life. But I won't be surprised if it ends up somehow revolving around you."

"Tommy," Kim looked up at him.

"You're everything to me Kim," Tommy said. "You're it. I love you more than anything else in the world and I would do anything for you. My whole world revolves around you, which is why it wouldn't shock me if you factored into my fear. How, I don't know, but I know you will."

"I feel the same," Kim said. "I truly do; I have to admit, I'm a little worried as well. I'm scared to have to face whatever it is my deepest, darkest fear is."

"We all are," Aisha said as she and the others walked over to the two of them. "And what makes it worse is that we all have to do it on our own. We've never done that before. It's always been either all of us together or two of us…never alone."

"I know," Rocky said as he sat down on the rock. "I'm worried about that too. I don't want us to do this by ourselves, but at the same time, I understand why we have to."

"How bad do you think they're going to be?" Adam asked as he sat on the opposite side of Tommy.

"I don't know," Tommy sighed. "I hate not knowing."

"We all feel the same," Billy said as he sat next to Adam. "But we're a team and we have to have faith in each other and in our own abilities."

"Billy's right," Aisha said as she took the space between Kim and Rocky. "If we go into this quest with negative thoughts and feelings, it's going to overwhelm us and it'll be over before it starts. We can't let that happen."

"We won't let that happen," Kim said with conviction. "We will go on this quest and we will be strong, positive and determined. We're rangers and we won't let ourselves forget that."

She grabbed Aisha's hand with her own and grabbed Tommy's hand in her other, dislodging his arm from around her shoulders. "Faith."

"Strength," Aisha said as she grabbed Rocky's hand.

"Hope," Rocky said as he held hers tight.

"Determination," Tommy said as he held tight to Kim's hand and grabbed Adam's.

"Prevalence," Adam said as he reached for Billy's hand.

"Rangers," Billy finished as he tightened his hold on Adam's hand.

The six didn't realize that their colors glowed around them as their animals sounded out into the night. In the background, Dulcea looked on with a proud smile as she watched them further strengthen their bond. _'Zordon, your legacy lives on. You will succeed rangers, and you will win.'_

_~…~_

After the six had left, the others scattered around the house. Hayley and the other techies had stayed in the basement and all of the others were in the backyard. Kira was sitting on the back porch watching them.

"Hey." Conner said as he walked over to her.

"Hi." She leaned up for a kiss and smiled when he sat next to her, placing an arm around her shoulders.

"What's up?" Conner asked.

"I'm thinking about Dr. O and the others," Kira said. "I'm worried about them."

"So am I," Conner said. "I know that they've done this before and they can take care of themselves, but I can't help it."

"What do you think their quest is going to be like?" she asked.

"I don't know," Conner admitted with a sigh. "And that's what scares me. We're rangers and shit happens to us all the time. From what I've heard, we got it easy when it came to getting our powers. The ninjetti had to go through a quest the first time around and it wasn't easy."

"They're older now," Kira said. "And in our world, that will definitely change things up."

"Exactly," Conner nodded. "And with this Nerian dude out there, I just hope they get back before he even realizes what's going on."

"You and me both," Kira sighed as she leaned against him. They were quiet for a moment before Conner spoke up.

"I love you, you know?" he smiled down at her.

"I know," Kira smiled even as a blush stole across her cheeks. "I love you too."

"I'm scared Kira," Conner near whispered.

"Conner?" Kira looked up at her boyfriend. She knew, better than anyone, that underneath his jock persona, he was sensitive and smarter than anyone else knew. He rarely had moments like this, but when he did, it always made her feel extra special because she was the only that saw it and she knew she was getting a glimpse of the person underneath.

"We've been through so much," he continued. "But this Nerian guy is different from all the evil the rangers have faced over the years. Look at how much trouble we had just fighting his K-bots. I'm scared because a part of me thinks that we won't be able to stop him. What if this is it? What if he wins?"

"Conner," Kira reached up a hand to cup his cheeks. "I'd be worried if you weren't scared, because to tell you the truth, I am too. But we can't let that stop us. Even if Nerian is stronger and we may have met our match in him, we still have to try. We're rangers…it's what we do. We have to fight, that way, even if and I'm not saying we will, even if we lose, at least we can say we gave it our best shot; we didn't give up without a fight."

"You're right," Conner laughed softly. "How did I get so lucky to have you?"

"Luck had nothing to do with it," Kira smiled. "It was all you. I love you."

"I love you too," Conner kissed her. "And I believe that the others will get through this quest and find the Ancient Power."

"That's my jock," Kira laughed.

_~…~_

Nerian was in his room when he felt a change. He moved back to the main room and looked out over the Earth. His gaze narrowed as he looked over the Earth.

"There." He said. "A power surge and it's leaving the Earth."

He tracked the movements and his eyes narrowed further as he realized where it was going.

"Phaedos," he hissed. "They're going to Phaedos. I cannot go after them as I am not ready yet to reveal myself to them. I need someone…yes; a general would do just fine."

He went back to his creation chambers and grabbed his staff. He concentrated and seconds later, his general stood in front of him.

"Kraken," Nerian looked at him. "Welcome back."

"It is good to be back my lord," Kraken said as he bowed.

"I have a mission for you," Nerian spoke. "There is a distant planet that goes by the name of Phaedos; I want you to go there and stop the rangers from gaining the Ancient Power and claim it for me. If you cannot, then you will destroy both the power and the rangers."

"Yes master," Kraken nodded. He bowed to Nerian before he gathered his power around him and flew off to the direction of Phaedos.

When his general left, Nerian walked back out to the balcony. "Soon everything shall be mine."

~…~

When dawn came the next morning, the rangers were already up. They gathered around the fire with Dulcea.

"It is time," Dulcea said as she looked at all of them. "Good luck rangers and stay safe."

"Thank you Dulcea," Kim smiled.

"We will," Aisha said.

"Thanks for everything Dulcea," Rocky said.

"It was my pleasure to help," Dulcea smiled at them. Kim and Aisha moved forward to grab the warrior into a hug; seconds later, the guys joined in, prompting a laugh from Dulcea.

"Let's go guys," Tommy said, easily slipping into his leader mode as he pulled back from the hug.

"See you Dulcea," Adam said as the group turned to walk away.

"May the power protect you," Dulcea said as she watched them leave.

The rangers smiled at her before they walked off the platform in a single file; Tommy was leading with Kim behind him, followed by Aisha, Billy, Rocky and then Adam.

As the group walked down the path, they were quiet. Each of them was partially lost in their thoughts, their mind running through the different scenarios of what could happen.

"Remember the last time we were here?" Rocky asked after a while.

"Yes," Aisha said. "That's not something you forget."

"True," Kim laughed. "Especially those dino fossils; man they were creepy."

"I think they were educationally entertaining," Billy smiled. "After all, how many scientists would've loved to get their hands on functional fossils?"

"You just had to see the science part of it," Adam teased.

"Shut up," Billy laughed.

"Hey guys," Tommy said suddenly. "I think we're in the same place as last time."

The others looked around and noticed the familiarity of the place.

"I think you're right," Kim nodded. The friends walked on, their eyes taking in the place they had been through before.

"Oh man," Rocky laughed. "No way; guys…look."

They walked over to him and saw where he was gesturing; lying a few feet in front of them was the fossil that Tommy had fought the last time they were there and a few feet from that one was the ones the others fought off.

"Would you look at that?" Billy shook his head with a smile.

"Hey Tommy," Adam chuckled. "Feel like giving it another go?"

"No thank you," Tommy laughed as he shook his head. "I think we should get out of here before those things decide to pull themselves back together."

"Tommy," Aisha slapped his arm as Kim giggled. "Don't say that; we're rangers and things like that always happen to us. So don't jinx it."

"Oh come on," Rocky laughed as he walked over to it. He kicked it once before turning back to the others. "He said it the last time we were here and they didn't pull themselves together then, so why would they do it now?"

"Rocky," Kim's eyes went wide as she back away slowly. The others, seeing what she was doing, did the same as well.

"I mean," Rocky continued, oblivious to what was happening behind him. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"They can actually manage to come back to life," Adam said.

"Yeah right," Rocky snorted.

"Rocky," Aisha breathed. "He's telling the truth; get away from there now."

"What?" Rocky looked at them and it finally dawned on him that they were backing away and looking at him in fear. He froze. "Oh shit; it's back together and standing right behind me isn't it?"

"Yeah," Tommy nodded.

"Oh," Rocky said. "Ok." Without saying anything else, he ran to where the others were. When he got there, he turned to look. "Damn."

"Yeah," Adam said as he and the others spread out. "What do we do now?"

"We could try running," Kim said. "I mean, I don't really care to fight it a second time around."

"Neither do I," Aisha agreed. Before anyone could say anything else, the dino charged them.

"Move!" Billy yelled out as he dove to the side. The others moved as well, but Kim couldn't in time.

"Oh man," Kim groaned as she backed away. "Why is it always me?"

"Kimberly!" Tommy yelled out as he moved to his feet. His heart pounded as he watched the dino close in on his girlfriend.

"No!" Aisha and the others shouted.

Kim knew she wouldn't be able to dodge the fossil completely. Just as she was about to give up hope, she heard Shalimar.

_**You're a crane. Use its strength.**_

She knew what to do. She kept her eyes on the dino and at the last minute, she pushed off and flipped into the air coming to land in a crouch behind it. When she came up, she was pulled into Tommy's arms.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Yes," Kim nodded. "But we need to get rid of this thing fast."

"Right," Tommy nodded and the friends turned as one to face the dino.

As it charged them, they each dodged it as best they could. They fought, but nothing seemed to be working.

"What do we do?" Adam asked as he jumped out of the way once more.

The dino swung its tail and knocked Rocky off his feet. When he moved to get up, it swung around to face him and Rocky froze.

"Rocky move!" Kim yelled.

But he couldn't. _**You're an ape. You're power is its strength. Use it. **_He heard the voice of his ape and he focused. Clasping his hands together, he raised his hands in the air.

"Rocky what the hell are you doing?" Aisha yelled out as she watched him from her position.

He didn't answer; he focused on the dino fossil and when it was in front of him, he called on his powers and his hands glowed red seconds before he brought them down on top of the dino's head. Under the force of the power, the dino collapsed into pieces.

"Whoa," Rocky breathed as he looked down.

"Are you ok?" Billy asked as he and the others ran over to him.

"Yeah I'm fine," He nodded.

"How did you do that?" Adam asked.

"Jesse told you, didn't he?" Kim said.

"He did," Rocky looked at her. A second later, his eyes widened. "Shal did the same for you; that's how you got over it."

"Yep," Kim nodded.

"Let's get out of here before the others decide to come back as well," Tommy said.

"Good idea," the others chorused and they hurried through the area. When they were sure they clear, they stopped to take a breather.

"I guess it was too much to hope that we could do this quest without all the trappings," Rocky said.

"It wouldn't a quest if that happened," Adam said. "We should keep walking."

The others nodded and they continued on their path. They walked, talking to each other to pass the time. They passed the mini waterfall where they had battled the rock monsters and before they knew it, they were standing once again in front of the temple.

"Now what?" Aisha asked.

"I don't think it's going to open on its own like last time," Billy said, "considering we didn't fight the rock guardians."

"So," Kim said. "What do we do?"

The group was quiet as they thought of a way to get inside.

"Hey," Adam spoke up and they turned to look at him. "What if we use our animals? I mean, the last time, they came from in there, so maybe we can use them to open it this time?"

The friends looked at each other.

"It's worth a try," Tommy said. "Let's do it."

They formed a line, starting with Billy and ending with Adam with Kim and Aisha in the middle.

"Ready guys?" Tommy asked.

"Ready," the others replied as one.

They each closed their eyes and focused on where the ninjetti powers laid. As the animals came forth, they glowed. Seconds later, their eyes opened.

"Wolf"

"Falcon"

"Crane"

"Bear"

"Ape"

"Frog"

The spirit animals cried as they circled their humans before flying to the doorway. The temple shook as the massive doors opened, light spilling forth. The friends looked at each other, before they moved to go in. As the door closed behind them, they didn't hear the whispered "good luck rangers" from Dulcea.

~…~

Hayley and Andros were busy in the basement while the others were lounging around the house. They were joined by Angela from LSR, Cam, Alyssa and Kai.

"How do you think things are going?" Kai asked.

"Hopefully good," Hayley sighed. "But knowing what I do of the ranger world…"

"They'll have problems," Andros finished.

"Exactly," Hayley nodded.

"Well," Cam shook his head. "No power worth having is easy to acquire."

"Too true," Angela said. "At least Nerian doesn't know."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Hayley said.

"Why do you say that?" Alyssa asked.

"Do you see this?" Hayley asked as she pointed to colored dot on the screen. "It's an energy signature. I've been tracking it since it left the moon."

"The moon?" Alyssa asked. "Nerian."

"Yes," Hayley nodded.

They looked at each other.

"So where's it going?" Andros asked.

"Judging from the direction," Hayley said. "It's definitely not heading to Earth; which can only mean one thing."

"It's headed for the others," Cam said.

"I believe so," Hayley nodded. "Tommy and the others are going to have unexpected company on this quest."

"Oh no," Angela gasped.

~…~

"Now," Nerian said, "with Kraken after those six, I can turn my focus on the others and find out just how many rangers are actually here."

With a sinister smirk on his face, he went back to his chambers and looked at his K-bots. He waved his staff over them and watched as they moved to their feet.

"Destroy the town," he instructed, "draw the rangers out and then destroy them."

The Kronobots snarled before they disappeared in a flash of light.

~…~

An alarm sounded out in the basement. Hayley and the others could hear the footsteps of the others coming down the stairs.

"What's going on?" Jason asked.

"Kronobots attacking downtown," Hayley said.

"Who's going to go?" Maya asked.

"We'll go," Conner said and the others could tell he was slipping into the leader mode. "Ready guys?"

"Ready." Kira, Trent and Ethan echoed.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up!"

"White Ranger, Dino Power!"

The four rangers stood there in their suits looking at the others. Seconds later, the red ranger's helmet swiveled to look at Krista and Angela.

"Suit up," he said.

"Are you sure?" Krista asked as she and Angel stood in front of them.

Carter was about to say something, but stopped when he saw Jason shake his head. This was something that Conner needed to do; he was a red after all, and their team leader. If he thought it was time they joined, then it was time.

"You guys may not feel like you're ready," Conner said. "But I have faith in you. The gems wouldn't have chosen you if you couldn't handle it. I know you haven't been in any battles, but that's what this is all about. When we first became rangers, we were terrified we'd screw up, but we did it anyways; we didn't let our fear stop us. We'll protect you as much as we can, but it's now or never."

The room was quiet when he finished and they looked at the two girls. The reds were proud of his speech and without knowing it, Conner had gained their respect.

The two girls looked at each other before nodding.

"We agreed to be a part of this," Angela said, "so…alright."

"Go for it," Trent said.

"Pink Ranger, Dino Power!"

"Black Ranger, Dino Power!"

"Alright," Conner nodded. "Let's go."

They brought their arms up to their chest to activate the teleportation. Just before they left, Conner looked at them.

"I think another team should be ready," he said. "We don't know what this guy may pull and I'd like us to be ready if anything happens. It may not, but better safe than sorry."

They teleported out seconds later and the others looked at one another.

"Tommy should be proud," Jason said. "That's one hell of a red he has there."

"He carries on the red legacy quite well," Trini smiled.

"Which team is going to go?" Shane asked.

They looked at each other before nodding.

"You guys," Jason said. "You're the team just before them; you have worked with them and know how their moves go and how to work with it."

"Sounds like a plan," Hunter nodded as did the rest of the NS team.

"Joey," Tori asked. "Are you going to go?"

"No," Joey shook his head. "They can do this without me and you guys are going out there if help is needed. If it comes down to it, then I'll come with some of the others."

"Alright," Tori nodded.

"Alright," Carter said. "So it's in agreement; if Conner and the others need help, the Ninja Storm will go."

The others nodded in agreement before they turned to watch the screen.

~…~

The Dino Thunder team teleported into the middle of the destruction and they gained the attention of the K-bots.

"Remember," Conner said, "aim for their heads and keep yourself protected."

"Got it boss," Ethan joked.

"Krista, Angela," Conner turned to the two girls, "trust your instincts and trust in the power."

"Ok," the two girls nodded.

"Here they come," Trent said and the rangers got into position. When the K-bots got close enough, the rangers pulled out their blasters and fired at them. When they were re-grouping, the rangers took that opportunity to attack.

It was fast and intense. They didn't give the K-bots any opening as they kept driving at them. Kira held out her hand and summoned her sword. She leaped through the air, swinging the sword in an arc, decapitating the K-Bots that were around her before she moved to where Conner was.

The two worked in tandem as did the others; Krista was working side to side with Trent, who had planted himself next to his girlfriend as soon as they fight had started…Ethan did the same with Angela. The rangers worked together to destroy the robots.

Conner held his staff in his hand and fought the robots. He turned and grabbed Kira's arm, pulling her away from the K-bot that was coming up behind her.

Krista was fighting with Trent and had just ducked a robot when she looked up and saw that Angela had gotten separated from Ethan and a robot was coming up on her. Knowing she wouldn't be able to make it in time, she did the only thing she could.

"Angela!" she yelled even as she flung out her hand. The others turned to look to where Angela was and they saw the pink shield that glowed immediately around her, knocking the K-Bots away.

Ethan moved to his girlfriend's side. "Are you ok?"

"Thanks to Krista," Angela breathed.

~…~

"Looks like Krista found her handle on her power," Kendrix smiled even as she out a breath of relief.

"And just in time too," Dana nodded and the others focused back on the screen.

~…~

"Let's move," Ethan said as he turned his back to her to punch a robot. They two worked until they got with the others.

"Thanks Krista," Angela said.

"You're welcome," Krista nodded even as she fought the K-bots that came near. Conversations stopped as they focused on destroying the rest of the K-bots.

"Is it me," Kira spoke up after a while, "or does it seem like the more we destroy, the more shows up?"

"It's not just you," Conner said. He jumped over Kira's head to kick a robot away before using his staff to remove its head. It took a while, but they quickly got rid of the remaining robots before turning to each other.

"Thank God," Angela said.

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet," Trent's voice was tense as was his entire body.

"Why?" Ethan asked.

"That," he said as he gestured to the K-bots that were heading towards them.

"Oh damn," Kira breathed. "Here we go again."

Sharing a look, the rangers tightened their grips on their weapons before heading to the robots. They fight that ensued was more intense than the one they just fought and it was showing. They could barely catch their breath as they fought off the robots. Like before, to them, it seemed that the more the destroyed, the others multiplied.

A blast was fired from the robots, sending the rangers to the ground. Conner looked at his team, before raising the communicator to his lips.

"Guys," he breathed, "we could definitely use some help out here."

~…~

"You're up," Rocky nodded to the Ninja Storm team.

The team took their positions in front of the others.

"Ready?" Shane called out as they called their morphers.

"You know it," Dustin said.

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" Shane, Dustin and Tori called out.

"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!" Hunter and Blake called out.

"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!" Cam called out.

"Let's go guys," Shane said; seconds later, the team teleported out.

~…~

While the rangers were on Earth fighting against the K-bots, on Phaedos, the others were about to go into their own battles.

As they entered the temple, they automatically shifted closer to each other. They walked for a while before they stopped.

"What is it?" Rocky asked.

"Do you guys see that light?" Adam asked as he looked ahead.

"Yeah," Kim answered. "What do you think it is?"

"I have no idea," Aisha said.

"Maybe it has something to do with our powers," Tommy said.

"_Right you are White Ranger," _A voice spoke and it caused the team to jump in shock.

"Tell me I wasn't the only one to hear that," Rocky said.

"I heard it as well," Billy said. "And I'm sure the others did too."

"We did," Kim, Tommy, Aisha and Adam replied.

"_Do not fear rangers," _the voice spoke again. _"You are in no danger. I know of your task and that which you seek."_

The rangers looked at each other.

"You know we are here for the great power," Tommy spoke. "It is the only way to defeat the villain that wants to destroy the world."

"_Yes," _the voice spoke and the rangers got the impression that if it was a person, they would be nodding. _"What, may I ask, makes this villain different to the ones you have faced before?"_

"He is not of this world," Billy said. "Or rather, he is not of this dimension. He has destroyed his own, looking for the great power and he came here in the hopes he would find it."

"_Does this villain have a name?"_

"He calls himself Nerian," Aisha answered.

"_Nerian?" _the voice sounded shocked. _"That cannot be."_

"You know him?" Rocky asked; he was shocked, as well as the others.

"_Yes," _the voice spoke.

"How is that possible?" Kim asked. "Not even Dulcea, the warrior protector for this planet and the Ninjetti, heard of him."

"_Centuries ago," _the voice spoke. _"This planet was thriving. It was more bountiful than your Earth was. The people that lived here connected well with the animals and with the spirits. There was a Goddess that the planet worshipped; they loved her and she took care of them. Everything was peaceful, until trouble came. _

"_An evil being showed up; it was going from planets to planets, devouring their life sources. When the Goddess heard of it, she chose six of the people, the ones that were the most courageous and worthy, and bestowed the powers of the spirit guardians unto them; Nerian was one of them."_

"What?" the exclamation was made by the six rangers as they exchanged looks with each other.

"Nerian was a ninjetti?" Aisha asked.

"_Yes," _the voice continued and again the rangers had the sense of a head nodding. _"He was; he and his teammates accessed the power and they destroyed the being. The Goddess was pleased with their work and thus allowed them to keep the powers with the promise to protect the planet and to never betray the powers or their people. Things were going good until Nerian became greedy; he wanted all the powers. He became reckless and started using his powers against the people._

"_His teammates and friends had no choice but to fight against him. During a battle, he used his powers on a fellow teammate, killing them and gathering the power for himself. His spirit animal had become trapped inside of him and he used its connection to siphon the power from the fallen ninjetti. Though it was hard, the others managed to capture him. They had a choice to make; whether to strip him of his powers and bind his soul or whether to destroy him completely._

"_It took a few days, but they chose to destroy him. The best way to kill the Ninjetti is to kill their spirit animal. Nerian's animal chose death and it, along with his powers, were returned to the Goddess and his soul was cursed. After that, the Goddess declared that she would revoke the powers to prevent something like that from happening again. She stated that the powers would stay until the true wielders, the ones who were truly worthy to wield them, came to pass. In all the centuries that have passed, and all the humans that have tried to gain the power, there was only one set that did. Six teenagers from the Planet Earth came here to seek the Ninjetti and they found it."_

"Wow," Billy blinked. "Dulcea had explained some of this to us the last time we were here, but I never imagined there was more."

"Wait a minute," Rocky said. "That means that, in Joey's dimension, they chose to bind him his soul and strip his powers; that's why he's here. He broke the bound."

"And then he attacked all the rangers in his dimension as some sort of revenge," Adam continued. "He saved the Ninjetti for last, but even when they reclaimed their powers, they couldn't defeat him."

"And he's here to do the same to us," Tommy finished. "He's going to attack everyone and save us for last."

"Not if we get the Ancient Power," Kim said. "What is the Ancient Power anyways?"

"_The Ancient Power is a combination; firstly, it is the power that the very first Ninjetti used," _the voice said. _"The ones that Nerian used; they are very powerful, more so than the Ninjetti powers that you have now and it is what you will get if you are successful with the first part of this quest. The second half of the Ancient Power is from the Ancient Goddess herself and those powers shall be gained if you are successful with the second half of the quest."_

"Can you explain more on this quest?" Aisha asked. "Dulcea explained to us that we would be facing our worst fear."

"_You shall," _the voice spoke. _"But, I cannot say anymore. You can rest here. You will leave for your quest in one hour."_

The rangers sighed as they felt the presence leave.

"What do you think?" Rocky turned to look at Tommy.

"I don't know," Tommy shook his head. "Like Billy said, I never thought there was such a history behind the Ninjetti."

"I can't believe Nerian was one of the first Ninjetti," Kim sighed as she sat down and leaned against a wall. Tommy moved to sit next to her, drawing her to his side as he did so.

"It would explain his utter hatred for all things ranger centered," Aisha said as she walked over to Kim and sat on her other side.

"He's doing this for revenge," Rocky said as he joined them. "All the other villains did this because they wanted us out of the way so that they could rule the Earth, but him, he wants revenge."

"Remember Ivan?" Billy asked as he joined them in sitting against the wall. "He wanted revenge on Zordon and the rangers that had imprisoned him."

"Oh yeah," Rocky said. "God, remember how slimy he was?"

"I hated him for that reason only," Kim chuckled. "Although, I did think it was funny when 'Sha kneed him."

"He may have been our villain," Tommy grimaced. "But in that second, I pitied him."

The rangers laughed and they all shifted as they leaned against each other.

"I don't want to go on this quest," Kim spoke up after a bout of silence. "Remember when we were on the plateau and I said I was scared of whatever my fear is going to be?"

"Yeah?" the others nodded.

"Well that scare has now moved up to terror," Kim admitted. "I'm completely terrified; I don't want to face this without one of you with me."

"I feel the same way," Aisha said and the others made sounds of agreement. "For as long as I can remember, I've always had one of you helping me; whether it was Rocky or Adam when we were kids or you guys from our high school years to now. It's scary to think of doing something like this with none of you by my side."

"I'm also worried about you guys," Kim said as she gestured to Aisha, Adam and Rocky.

"Why?" Adam asked.

"Because," she continued, "Billy, Tommy and I have been through something like this before. Rita sent us to an island of illusions just after Tommy joined the team; there, we had to face our fears as well."

"What were they?" Aisha asked.

"Mine was becoming the green ranger again," Tommy said. "I didn't want to fight against them again, especially Kimberly; but I was able to overcome it."

"For me it was not being good enough," Billy said. "I feared that my science and I would let the others down, especially when they really needed it."

"What about you, sis?" Rocky asked Kim.

"It was Bulk and Skull being nice," Kim said.

"Huh?" Aisha, Adam and Rocky looked confused and surprised.

"Well," Kim smiled, "not really them, but I thought if they could be nice, then Rita could do anything."

"That would scare anyone," Adam said.

"I know," Kim sighed. "We've had experience, but you guys haven't, which is why I'm more worried for you."

Aisha looked at her sister and best friend and squeezed her hand; it triggered a reaction as they all grabbed hold of each other's hand to give a reassuring squeeze. They talked quietly among themselves after that, unaware of the time that passed, thus, they were startled when they heard the voice.

"_It is time."_

"Now or never," Adam said.

"_Follow the light and your quest will begin."_

They looked at each before getting up off the floor. They followed the light until they came to a chamber that held six doors; each door held their color and animal. They shared another look before moving to the doors.

"Stay safe guys," Tommy said.

"You too," Kim answered back.

They were about to open the doors when they heard a voice; it was one they recognized immediately and it filled them with warmth and security.

"_Good luck my rangers and may the power protect you."_

The six smiled at each other before they stepped through the doors.

~…~

The Ninja Storm teleported in the battle and immediately joined in. Tori ended teaming up with Kira, like last time, while Shane went to Conner and Blake and Hunter helped out Trent and Krista and Cam and Dustin helped out Ethan and Angela. With them having teamed up before, it was easy for them to ease back into the familiarity of working around and with each other.

The two teams quickly cut through the robots, but it soon became clear to them that things were harder than they thought.

"Are there more of these things than when we started?" Shane grunted out as he fought off some robots.

"It seems like it," Hunter answered. The two fought back to back to destroy the Kronobots that surrounded them.

The two teams fought against the robots, but it seemed like it wasn't enough. A blast threw them off their feet and they regrouped.

"These ones seem stronger than the others," Trent panted out.

"Definitely," Conner nodded. They got in a fighting stance but stopped when they saw the robots moving close together.

"What are they doing?" Tori asked.

"I have no idea," Cam answered. "But I have a really bad feeling about it."

"You're not the only one," Ethan said and the others nodded in agreement. Their bodies were tensed in anticipation as they saw the robots forming what seemed to be an arrow like position. Their eyes widened behind their helmets when they saw the gun.

"Shit!" Dustin exclaimed and they all shared his sentiments.

"Move!" Shane and Conner shouted out and in that same moment, the Kronobots fired their weapon. The boys all dived out of the way, and the girls were about to do the same when a pink shield flew up around them. While it did protect them from the blast, the force of it threw them off their feet. The boys rushed to their sides.

"You guys ok?" Ethan asked as he helped them to their feet, along with the others.

"Thanks to Krista," Kira said as she leaned into Conner.

"Thanks," Tori and Angela said as one.

"No problem," Krista waved them.

"I think it's time we ended this," Conner said as he looked at his teammates. They caught the look in his eyes and nodded.

"Tyranno staff"

"Tricera shield"

"Ptera sword"

"Stega grips"

"Brachio staff"

"Drago sword"

The DT rangers combined their weapons together and so did the NS team once they realized what they doing.

"Ready?" Shane and Conner asked.

"Ready!" the others replied.

"Fire!" the two yelled. Twin blasts escaped the two canons, each powerful in their own right, and headed straight for the Kronobots. The explosion that rocked the ground was immense and the rangers barely managed to keep themselves from staggering from it. Dust rose around them, shielding their views from the spot where the Kronobots were and they found themselves holding their breath in suspense. Seconds later, the dust lifted and to their relief and joy, the Kronobots were gone.

"Thank God," Dustin breathed.

"Let's get out of here," Cam said, "before Nerian decides to send more K-bots."

"Good idea," the others nodded and the rangers' teleported out.

~…~

When they touched down in Tommy's basement, it was to cheers and sounds of approval from the others.

"Good job guys," Ryan said as he walked up to them.

"Power down," Kira de-morphed and the others followed her. "Thanks."

"Are you guys ok?" Ashley asked; she knew, as wells as the others, just from watching the fight that it was tougher than before.

"We're fine," Angela answered. "Just a little beat up, but that's normal right?"

"For us," TJ chuckled. "Yes."

"Thought so," Angela nodded and the others laughed.

Hayley was the only one that was laughing.

"Hayley?" Tanya called. "What is it?"

"I'm worried about the others," she answered.

"Why?" Conner asked as he moved forward. "Did something happen? Are they ok?"

"Something did happen," Hayley said, "and I don't know if they're ok…though I hope so."

"What is it Hayley?" Krista asked.

"Earlier," Hayley said. "I detected an energy signature leaving the moon."

"What's so worrying about that?" Dustin asked.

"It was heading in an opposite direction to Earth," Alyssa said, "and that means—

"It's heading for the others," Jason finished, a sudden worry growing in his eyes. "It's heading for Phaedos."

"Oh damn," Zack muttered as he closed his eyes.

"Exactly," Andros nodded. "And since we have no way of contacting them—

"They'll be caught by surprise," Joey finished. The rangers all shared a look and their worry for the others increased even more.

~…~

_(Rocky's Quest)_

When he stepped through the door, he had no idea what to expect. He had been bracing himself for something, what he didn't know, and he found himself letting out a slow breath as he looked around. He noticed that he was standing on a very familiar path and it took a few seconds to realize he was in Angel Grove. He walked for a bit, trying to figure out what was going on. He had walked for about ten minutes when he saw a figure walking a few feet in front of him; a closer look and he realized that he recognized the person. A smile on his face, he hurried after them.

"Hey Kim," he said as he stopped next to her.

"Do I know you?" Kim turned to look at him with a cold look in her eyes.

"What?" he turned shocked eyes towards her. "Of course you do; we've known each other for years now."

Kim looked him up and down, the coldness in her eyes never leaving. When she spoke, her voice was filled with scorn. "As if I could possibly be friends with someone like you; you're nothing but a backstabber."

"Kim," he looked at her and had to stop himself from flinching at the look in her eyes. "Why are you acting like this? We're friends."

"No we're not," Kim glared at him. "We stopped being friends the moment you turned against me. If you thought I would ever forgive you for that, then you're sadly mistaken."

"Kimberly," he started but stopped as she turned her back to him. He heard a noise and looked and saw Aisha and the others heading towards them. He smiled at them in relief, but that relief soon turned to shock and confusion when the others, especially Aisha, ignored him.

He stood off to the side and could only watch as his friends completely ignored him; Kim's words ringing in his ear. He could feel a pain building in his chest and his hand came up absentmindedly to rub it. Tears filled his eyes and everything blurred before it cleared up. This time he was standing in a garden and he saw Aisha walk out of a house.

"Aisha," he called out as he walked over to her.

She looked up when she heard him, but the cold indifference in her eyes stopped him short.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed at him.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered out. "'Sha, what's going on? Why are you treating me like this?"

"You have some nerve to ask," she said. "I don't want you here…leave."

"Leave?" he repeated. "'Sha, we're getting married."

"As if I would marry you," she laughed. "Do you really think I would or could marry someone who would treat my friends like you did Kim? You're not only stupid, but you're pathetic."

"'Sha," he felt his heart breaking as he listened to the woman he loved cut him down.

"You don't deserve anything," Aisha said spitefully as she continued, "not the powers, not Kim's forgiveness and definitely not me. I wouldn't waste time on you even if you were dying."

With that, she turned her back on him, not caring about the tears that ran down his cheeks. He watched as the others come out of the house and saw Kim walk over to Aisha. The two whispered together before looking at him.

"You never should've betrayed me," Kim hissed. "I will never forgive you."

He felt an overwhelming pain as he stood there and listened as they alternated between ignoring him and hurtling hurtful words at him. It was more than he could bear and he fell to his knees.

"Forgive me…please," he cried. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."

"Never!" the word echoed over and over in his mind and he couldn't stop the despair he felt from it. His chest hurt and he sobbed out his pain at the thought of never gaining Kim's forgiveness and losing his friends. As his cries grew, a thought came to him through the fog of pain.

_Is this how Kim felt when we ignored her? Is this what she was feeling when we abandoned her?_

_**Yes**_

He looked and saw that his friends had disappeared and a being stood in front of him.

_**You could make it all disappear by asking.**_

He paused for a second before he shook his head. His cries had lessened enough for him to speak. "No…I deserve this. She was my sister and I never should've abandoned her. If feeling what she was feeling is my punishment then I will gladly take it."

_**Even if it meant losing the woman you love? Not having Kimberly's forgiveness caused you to lose out on a life with Aisha**_

He closed his eyes in pain before opening them back. "Even if meant losing her; I never should've hurt Kim the way I did…she's my sister. And even if I did get rid of this pain, it wouldn't mean anything because I still would've betrayed her and I couldn't be with Aisha knowing I did that. If it wasn't for Kim, I wouldn't be with Aisha in the first place.

"I already let Kim down once and I will not do it again. Nothing will ever make up for what I did, this pain is punishment for that…I accept it."

Everything was silent after that and he thought whoever it was had left; so he was startled when he heard the voice above him.

"Congrats Rocky," he heard and he looked up to see Kim standing there with a smile on his face.

"Kim?"

"You've already earned back my forgiveness," Kim smiled at him, "and I am grateful and happy you're my big brother. The crane and ape will always be brother and sister; nothing will ever change that."

"Thank you," he moved off his knees slowly and stood in front of her. He watched with a soft smile as she slowly faded away.

_**You've shown that you truly have changed from the young man you were back then and you've proven that you do deserve to be Ninjetti. Come young one and claim your Ape.**_

He walked forward and reached out to the ape that was in front of him. As they touched, a red glow surrounded him and he disappeared.

_(Adam's Quest)_

He had no idea what he expected when he stepped through the door, and he was surprised and a little confused as he found himself in an unfamiliar place. He looked around as he kept walking, hoping to find something that would give him a clue as to where he was. After walking for a few minutes, he saw that he was standing in front of a building. He looked up at it and felt this overwhelming urge to go inside, so he did.

He walked up the stairs, passing many doors that seemed blurred. He came to a stop in front of a door and it swung open slowly. With caution, he walked inside and heard someone crying.

"Hello?" he called out as he came inside. "Is someone here? Are you ok?"

No answer came out, only more crying. Shrugging his shoulders, he followed the noise and came to a bedroom. He pushed open the door and looked in. What he saw made his heart break; Kim was curled into a ball on the bed, sobbing her eyes out.

"Kimberly?" he called softly as he walked over to her. He reached out to touch her, but she flinched away and curled even tighter.

"Kim, please," he pleaded as he moved to kneel on the bed. "Look at me; what is it? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Leave me alone," she spoke softly and through her tears. "Haven't you done enough?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "Please look at me. Let me help you."

"Help me?" Kim slowly uncurled herself and glared at him with accusing eyes. "You want to help me? When I needed your help, you left me to fend for myself. You threw me away like I was nothing to you."

"I—

"You what?" she cut him off and he was suddenly reminded of the biggest regret in his life; the day he had turned on her. Kim's laugh was cruel as she saw the realization dawn in his eyes. "Now you know."

"Kim," he started. "I'm so sorry."

"Really?" she moved to her knees. "You think saying it is going to mean anything now? Were you sorry then when you refused to listen to me? Were you sorry when I was all alone and needed my friends around me and they weren't there? If you think saying that now will make me forgive you, you're wrong."

"But you did Kim," he pleaded with her. "You did forgive us…forgive me. We talked and we made up."

"I would never have forgiven such a betrayal," Kim hissed at him. "And I never will. I was nothing to you and now, you're nothing to me."

With that, she turned her back on him and re-curled herself on the bed, once more giving into the tears that were in her heart. As he stood there, his heart and soul in agony, scenes flashed before his eyes and he saw her in every one. He saw how she was after the letter fiasco and how they had treated her; he saw the pain in her eyes as she tried to hide it from everyone else and he heard it when she cried herself to sleep every night. Each time, the pain in his heart intensified until he was clutching his chest as his tears came out.

The final scene that stopped in front of his eyes was one that had never happened before. He looked at it for a few minutes and saw that it was of the final battle with Nerian; he watched as all of his friends fell to the ground before he saw Nerian delivering the final blow to him.

"NO!" he shouted as he tried to move forward, only to find that he couldn't. His eyes caught the other Adam's and a voice sounded inside his head.

"_We…weren't…strong…enough," _the voice spoke and he recognized it as his own. _"It…wasn't…enough…bond…broken…n-n-no…forgiveness…"_

And it hit him; Kim hadn't forgiven him and he hadn't been strong enough to right Nerian. His little sister was the heart of their family and without her…without her forgiveness, the team had fallen apart. The truth of it hit him and he fell to his knees in agony.

"What have I done?" he cried. "Why did I betray her? She was my sister."

"And she still is," a voice said to him after a while. He looked up and was in shock at who he saw.

"Kim?" he croaked out through his sore throat.

"Yes little prince," Kim giggled. "It's me. I'm your bonded sister Adam…your spirit sister and nothing can break that bond. You need to forgive yourself because I already forgave you."

"I…I'm not sure if I should," he whispered.

"You definitely should," Kim smiled. "You've always been there Adam; even when I didn't forgive you, you still stayed loyal to me."

She showed him scenes of him being there despite the fact that she hadn't wanted him to.

"You stuck by me," Kim smiled. "I forgave you and I want you in my life. After all, a lady will always need a prince to rescue her."

"I'm so sorry," he said.

"I know," Kim nodded. "Now come on, forgive yourself already. I need my prince before I can fly." With that, she walked away, disappearing as she did so.

_**You have grown and you have changed. And so has your spirit form changed with you.**_

He looked on with confused eyes at the being in front of him. His eyes widened in shock as his frog morphed until it was a sleek and graceful cat…a lynx to be exact.

_**Your loyalty to her, and to your friends, is commendable. You're no longer the frog prince, but rather, the loyal lynx. Come and claim him.**_

He moved to his feet and walked over to the cat; when they touched, a black glow surrounded him and he disappeared; the last thing he heard was the cat's roar echoing in his mind.

_(Aisha's Quest)_

When she walked through the door, her body was tensed in anticipation; for what she didn't know, but she wanted to be ready for whatever was coming her way. She looked around and saw that she was in a field of some sort.

"Ok," she said to herself. "Now what?"

She decided to walk and she found herself moving through the field, noting that as she did so, the field morphed into a forest. Feeling uneasy, she walked more cautiously, her eyes looking around quickly. She was halfway through the forest when she saw herself ahead.

"What the hell?" she whispered as she moved closer.

She noticed that she was wearing the same Ninja robes; only, the ones on the other Aisha were torn and dirty. Before she could say or do anything, the other Aisha looked at her.

"It didn't matter," Aisha spoke. "We didn't get them."

"What?" she asked.

"We failed," Aisha said. "The powers didn't choose to come to us and we lost."

"That can't be," she shook her head.

"Look!" Aisha said.

She looked on and watched as the scene changed in front of her eyes; they were on Phaedos, and they were standing in front of five beings.

"_You have failed," one of the beings said. "You are not worthy; you are not strong enough to wield the powers of the Ancient Ninjetti."_

"_You deserve nothing but your own destruction," another voice said. "You especially yellow bear. You do not deserve to call upon the powers of the yellow ninjetti; you are weak."_

"_It is your fault," a voice added. _

Tears filled her eyes as the words washed over her. She couldn't believe things had turned out the way they had; they had lost the powers and it was all her fault. She wasn't strong enough and because of that, she caused the destruction of everything else, including her friends. She stood there in her own despair, unaware of anything that was happening around her. She wasn't aware of how long she stood there, but through her pain, she heard a chuckle. She looked up and saw herself standing there.

"Would you stop?" Aisha smiled. "You are not weak."

"Yes I am," she cried. "I wasn't strong enough to help them get the powers and I wasn't strong enough to hold mine."

"Yes you are," Aisha said as she stepped closer. "Listen to me; you've been in love with Rocky ever since high school, right?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" She looked confused.

"My point is this," Aisha said gently. "You loved Rocky, even back in high school; when the betrayal happened, you were torn between him and Kimberly. And instead of doing nothing, you found the strength to stand by her, even though it meant going against the guy you loved. That is a strength that most people don't have."

"I couldn't let her go through it on her own," she said. "She needed someone in her corner, someone other than Tommy."

"I know," Aisha smiled. "And that tells me that you are more than worthy enough to hold these powers and you have more than enough strength to deal with anything that happens."

"I am strong," she whispered. Her tears slowed until they stopped.

"Yes you are," Aisha nodded.

"Even if we didn't get the powers," she said. "We would do everything to make stop Nerian, because it's who we are. We're rangers and that means finding the strength to stand against even the most seemingly insurmountable odds."

"That's my girl," Aisha laughed softly. "Zordon's rangers are stronger than they think they are."

"Yes we are," she nodded.

_**You have done well; you have seen that strength does not have to mean powers, but rather character and you have a strong character. You my dear, are still the bear; fierce, mighty and protective. Come and claim her.**_

She walked forward and smiled as she touched the bear; a yellow glow surrounded them and she disappeared.

_(Billy's Quest)_

As he stepped through the doorway, he quickly looked around to take in the environment he was in. He noticed that he was in a room with computers and it took him awhile to recognize it as the Command Center. He decided to walk around, hoping he'd find the reason he was there.

His hands drifted over the consoles as he walked through the room. He moved over to where Zordon used to be and stared at the spot for a few minutes. He was just about to leave when he heard a noise. He turned around and saw Kim standing there.

"Kimberly?" he called out in surprise and confusion. "What are you doing here sis?"

"Don't call me that!" Kim's eyes were cold. "You don't have the right to that privilege."

"What?" he was confused as to what she was talking about.

"Out of all them," Kim said, "you're abandonment hurts the most. How could you do that to me? I was always by your side and you left me the moment I did something bad."

His eyes widened in recognition.

"What? You have nothing to say?" Kim scoffed. "Typical; I hate you William. I hate you for leaving me. I hate you for pretending to be my friend when you knew you weren't."

"I was always your friend Kim," he protested. "And I'm sorry for leaving you; we talked things over already. You forgave me, remember?"

"Forgiving you was a mistake," Kim said. "One that I plan to correct; I will never forgive you for hurting me. I will always hate you for what you did."

"No," he shook his head even as his eyes blurred with tears.

"God," Kim sneered. "You are so pathetic; I can't believe you were actually a ranger. You didn't deserve it; after all, how can we trust someone who would betray so easily? You're nothing. Not even your science is worth shit. What will you do without it, I wonder?"

The scene changed, though Kim never left. Her words rang in his head and he could only watch as clip after clip, the rangers failed because of him. He was the smartest of them and his science couldn't help them. Everything was his fault; because he left Kim alone, he had caused everything to fail.

Tears ran down his cheeks as he watched as he tried to solve the problem that would help them win, but he couldn't; he had lost confidence and faith in himself and his science because he hadn't trusted Kim. She was right…he truly was pathetic. What kind of genius was he if he couldn't help himself or his friends? Zordon would be so disappointed in him.

"You know that is not true," a voice spoke to him.

He looked up and gasped in shock.

"Yes, it is me," the person smiled in amusement.

"Zordon," he whispered.

"You are not pathetic Billy," Zordon said as he walked over to him. "And I am not disappointed with you."

"How can you not be?" he asked. "I've hurt my sister and I can't even do anything right. I'm the smart one, the one that solves all the technical problems, and I can't do that."

"Everyone struggles now and again," Zordon said. "Even the ones that are sure and cemented in their gifts and talents. Yes, the rangers looked to you for help and for answering all technical problems, but they also knew that even you had your limits. They never gave you anything that was more than you could handle, and if they did, they did not mind if you asked for help."

"They shouldn't trust me," he shook his head. "Kim's right. I betrayed her and I am pathetic; if I truly was a genius, I would've seen that not everything was as it seemed. I should've figured it out; but I didn't and we all paid the price for it. If I can't rely on my smarts to access a situation and tell when one of my closest friends is not being entirely truthful, then how can I use it to actually help them?"

"But you have helped us," Kim said as she joined the two of them. She stood next to Zordon and smiled at him. "Billy, if it wasn't for you, we'd have lost so many times before. You were the one to create the devices needed to help Jason to the dark dimension to get Tommy; you created the RADBUG, which helped us a lot, especially when power was down at the Command Center and we couldn't teleport."

"But—

"No buts," Kim shook her head as she cut him off. "I've already forgiven you Billy, and you should forgive yourself. And you really shouldn't be too hard on yourself either; we know you're a genius and we also know that just because you are one, doesn't mean you don't have you faults and limitations like everyone else. You're only human Billy."

"She is right," Zordon smiled as he nodded. "Never lose fear in your brains and science for it is that the rangers rely on."

"That's true," Kim said. "Whenever something went wrong, even though we acted like it, we were never truly worried because we knew that if there was anyone who could find a way to fix it, it would be you. We trust you Billy and that will never change."

"I don't know what to say," he said.

"There is nothing to say," Kim said. "All you have to do is trust and believe in yourself the way I do…the way we all do."

"You would not be a ranger," Zordon said, "if you were not meant to be one. You are one of my children and I have the utter most faith in your abilities."

He looked at the two of them for a few minutes in silence. When he did spoke, his voice was soft and slightly clogged with tears.

"Thank you," he said. "I never believed I was so valuable to you guys."

"You are," Kim smiled. "You might be our genius, but you are also more than that; you're our best friend…our brother."

_**Now you see; you are not pathetic blue wolf. You have finally learn of your true place in this world. Come forth and claim your wolf.**_

He looked at the two and smiled as they disappeared from sight. He turned to where the wolf was standing and walked over to him. just like the others, when he touched him, a blue glow surrounded them and they disappeared.

_(Kim's Quest)_

She stepped through the door and stopped; her eyes were closed and she kept them that way for a few minutes before she opened them. She saw that she was in a cave of some sort and she started walking, looking around as she did so. She heard noises coming from ahead of her and she ran towards it. When she got to where the noises were coming from, she stopped in shock; she saw the former rangers and they were fighting robots, robots that she recognized and that's when she realized it…she was back on Murianthesis.

"What the hell?" she whispered to herself. She was about to step forward when an explosion rocked the room. She looked up and saw herself standing. "Oh no."

She could only watch in shock as the other Kimberly attack the rangers. She saw the viciousness in the attacks and the pure evil that shown in Kim's eyes. She watched as Lerigot tried to work his magic on her, only for Kim to turn on him.

"No," she watched with wide eyes as the evil Kimberly held out an arm towards the furry creature and his wife and child. She started forward, but she knew it was useless; she would not make it. she could only watch as Lerigot and his family was killed.

The other rangers looked up when they heard the small explosion and could only stare in shock and horror at they saw.

"Kimberly!" Tommy's voice yelled out.

"What did you do?" Kat cried.

Kimberly said nothing as she turned to the rangers. She smirked coldly at them before she called on her powers. She was soon standing in front of them in the ninja uniform, only instead of the regular pink, it was blood red.

Kimberly laughed, the sound sending chills down everyone's back, before she attacked the rangers. The attack on them was more vicious than it previously was. She could only watch as Kimberly attack the rangers.

"No," she yelled out. "Stop this; they're your friends."

But her yelling did nothing and Kimberly continued her attack. Her hand flew to her mouth as she watched Adam and Billy fly across the room to his the cave wall on the opposite side before falling to the ground. The suits flickered in and out before it disappeared, leaving the two unconscious in their civilian form.

"No," she cried softly as she watched the still form of her two friends.

"Kimberly stop, please," Tommy pleaded.

Kim said nothing as she attacked the others. She twisted Tanya's arm and an unmistakable snap filled the air; Tanya screamed before she was kicked in the stomach. She collapsed from the pain and her suit disappeared as well.

"Tanya," her tears ran unchecked down her cheeks as she watched another of her friends fall unconscious.

Kimberly turned to the last two and smirked behind the helmet. Without warning, the ninja suit disappeared and she stood there in civilian form. She said nothing as she attacked the pink ranger. That attack was more vicious than the others. Kat was thrown against the wall before Kim walked over to her and picked her up. She punched her in the stomach before bring her knee up, cracking the helmet with the force of the kick. She then lifted Kat by her neck and hissed at her.

"**You always were a meddlesome bitch." **

She held her palm towards the blonde's stomach and sent a beam of power towards her; it knocked Kat backwards into the wall. When she fell, the angle of her neck, left no doubt that the blonde was dead.

Kim then turned to the last ranger.

"Kimberly," Tommy said as he powered down. "Stop this; it's not you Beautiful."

"**Yes it is," **Kim hissed as she walked over to him.

"No!" she yelled out and she somehow gained the attention of the evil Kimberly.

"**What's the matter princess?" **Kimberly turned to her, her eyes glowing red. **"Didn't like what you did?"**

"I didn't do this," she protested as tears ran down her cheeks. "You did."

"**But I am you."**

"No you're not," she shook her head. "Just leave him alone…please."

"**Sorry babe," **Kimberly laughed. **"But I need him to go; can't have him turn me back, now can I?" **

Kim turned to Tommy, who hadn't seen or heard the other girl. She looked into his eyes and fired a spell at him. He didn't even try to stop it.

"No!" she screamed as she watch the man she love fall. She ran to him and collapsed on the ground next to his body. "Tommy…wake up…please wake up. You can't be gone…don't do this to me baby…please." She clutched his shirt in her hands as her tears fell on his body.

"**He's gone," **Kimberly sneered above her. **"You did this."**

"How could you?" she looked up at her. "How can you be so…"

"**So what?" **Kim raised an eyebrow. **"Evil? That's because I am…I always was and I always will be…and so are you."**

"I am not evil," she glared at the girl.

"**Really? Look at what you did? Look at how you destroyed your friends…the power rangers; only someone truly evil could've done this."**

"No," she shook her head as she sobbed over Tommy's body.

"**Why do you think it was you Maligore chose? It was because he knew how evil you were."**

"That's not true," she said. "I'm not like that. I'm not evil."

"**Everyone has a darkness within them, some act on it and some choose not to. You chose to."**

She wasn't listening anymore. She rocked back and forth as she clutched Tommy's dead body towards her. Kim's taunts echoed through her head and she slowly but surely found herself starting to believe them.

"I did this," she whispered. "I'm evil; I killed my friends…me. I don't deserve to be a ranger. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

She started crying once more as she repeated the words "I'm sorry" over and over again. She had no idea how long she lay there crying. What felt like hours later, she felt a touch on her shoulder.

"Please stop crying," a voice said. "You know how much I hate to see you cry."

She looked up and gasped at who she saw. "Tommy?"

"In the flesh Beautiful," Tommy chuckled.

"But…how?" she asked as she looked at him. "I killed you."

"Did you?" Tommy was amused as he helped her to her feet. he wiped her tears before placing a soft, sweet kiss on her lips. "I'm right here, so you couldn't have killed me."

"I attacked everyone," she insisted as she looked into his eyes. "How can you look at me and not be repulsed? I'm a murderer Tommy. I don't deserve you and I don't deserve these powers."

"You didn't attack anyone B," Tommy said. "Look around you."

She did and was shocked and confused when she saw there was nothing there. "But—

"It wasn't you," Tommy smiled at her. "You're not that type of person and you're definitely not evil."

The scene changed and she gasped when she saw they were at the lake.

"Right where we started," Tommy said. "Do you really think I would fall in love with someone who was evil?"

"No," she shook her head, "but—

"And do you think that that girl is evil as well?" Tommy asked as he gestured to a young girl in pink helping a dark-haired young girl make a sand castle.

"No."

"What about her?" Tommy pointed to where the same girl in pink was talking to a little girl that was swinging on swing set. "Would that girl help the little girl gain confidence to try out for a school team if she was evil?"

"No she wouldn't," she said softly.

"And would that same girl quit a club because her best friend was kept out of it?" Tommy asked.

"No, but Tommy," she cried. "Look at what happened? Why was it me that Maligore choose to turn? Why was it me that Zedd kept trying to kidnap? It had to be because I am evil."

"No it's not," Tommy shook his head. "It's because out of all of us, you have the purest heart. No matter what is done, things that others wouldn't forgive, you did. Your heart is one of the biggest hearts I know and there's no way you're evil. You, more than anyone, deserves to be a ranger. You teach us to have the heart and strength to keep going."

She was quiet as she allowed his words to sink in. Was he right? She was that person, wasn't she? She always placed her friends above herself. She never hesitated to do anything for them or for anyone that she could help. She was a ranger; it was a part of their job to go through risks. She was targeted more than the others because she was usually underestimated. His words finally sunk and a smile built slowly on her face.

"I am a ranger," she whispered. "And I do deserve to be one."

_**Yes you do. You, like all other rangers, have the possibility of being turned, but that does not mean you are in any way evil. You truly are the purest heart out of all the rangers. With everything that has happened to you, you did not let it break you down. You have survived it. you've soared through it all and your wings are stronger than before. Come forward and claim your Lady.**_

She wiped her remaining tears and walked towards the pink glow. A bird flew from it to meet her and when it landed on her shoulder, the two disappeared surrounded by the pink light.

_(Tommy's Quest)_

He was on guard the moment he stepped through the door. He had no idea what was going to happen, but he hoped he was prepared for whatever did happen. He noticed immediately that he was in Angel Grove and he briefly wondered how he had gotten there before the thought was gone. He walked around cautiously, his ranger instincts telling him to be careful.

He walked through the town he had spent the better part of his life living in, trying to figure out what exactly he was doing there. He passed familiar places, Ernie's included, before he realized he had ended up at the park. He was about to start walking again when he heard a girl's voice; it was familiar and it sounded like she was pleading with someone. His heart racing, he hurried to where she was. When he got there, he stopped when he saw her.

"Kimberly," he whispered. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Kim was on the ground, clutching her stomach.

"Tommy, please," Kim looked over at him. "This isn't you. You're stronger than this. Please Tommy, remember…please."

He looked at her in confusion before he realized his vision seemed a bit dark. When he brought his hands to his face, he was shocked to see the white gloves covering his hands.

"What the hell?" he whispered. He looked up at Kim and saw her struggling to get off the ground. When she was a few feet from him, she stopped.

"I know you're in there Tommy," Kim said, unmindful of the tears that ran down her cheeks. "Please fight this. You did it before."

He opened his mouth to reassure her, but was shocked by what came out instead. **"I was a fool before pink ranger…for letting you get close enough to turn me to your side; however, I will not make that mistake again."**

"No," he shook his head. "That's not what I was going to say." But it didn't matter, because that is what Kim heard.

"**And the first thing to do," **he continued, **"is to get rid of you."**

"Tommy," Kim pleaded, "please don't do this. I love you…please."

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop himself from attacking her; he could only watch and feel the helplessness overpower him as he watched Kim being attacked. The horror and despair that came over him as he watched the woman he loved be attacked by his owns hands was utterly overwhelming.

He felt himself get angry at the lack of fighting on Kim's part and he held out a hope that his body would stop.

"**What's the pink ranger?" **he taunted; his mouth spoke the words even as his mind rebelled against them. **"Too weak to fight back?"**

"I love you Tommy," Kim wheezed as she struggled to sit on the ground. "And I will not fight you. I refuse to attack you like you're some enemy; you're not. I know there's still some good in there and I won't give up until it reclaims you." she paused as she looked directly into his eyes and he found himself dreading the words that was about to cross her lips. "Even if I have to die for you to come back, then I will gladly give me life."

"**And I shall take it with pleasure," **he chuckled before he attacked her once more. Like she said, she didn't really fight back. The only thing she did was to plead with him to remember them and the love they shared…to remember himself.

He fought her even harder. He delivered a blow to her stomach before throwing her backwards; her body hit the pavement and he could hear the crack that her head gave as it hit. Horrified, he stumbled over to her body and fell to his knees.

"Kimberly…"

She turned to look at him, blood trailing out of her mouth and more pooling behind her head, but the smile on her face was full of love. "I knew you'd come back."

He looked down at himself and saw he was no longer wearing the green uniform. "No."

"It's ok Tommy," Kim said as she looked at him. "I don't blame you; you were under a spell, but it's broken now."

"Kim, please," he pleaded with her as he carefully lifted her in his arms. "Please Beautiful…don't do this." He echoed her words from earlier and the pain in his heart magnified as he realized it.

"You're not an evil person Tommy," Kim struggled to talk and her breathing was getting choppy and more shallow. "So don't think you are. You're one of the strongest people I know and I love you…no matter what."

"I love you too," he cried. "Please hold on…"

"I love you Tommy," Kim said even as her breaths became shorter as she struggled to breathe."I always have and I always will and I don't blame you, so please don't blame yourself. I knew I might have to die for you to come back and I accepted it."

"Kim…"

"Goodbye Tommy," Kim smiled one last time before her eyes slipped close and she breathed her last. Her body stopped moving and he knew instinctively, she was gone.

"No," he cried as he held her closer. "Please don't do this; you can't die Beautiful…you can't leave me alone…I need you Kim…please come back to me…please…please…"

He held her tight as he cried the pain that was in his heart and soul. A chuckle penetrated his grief and he looked up and saw the green ranger standing there.

"You did this to her," he said as he glared at him.

"**Me? Oh no…this was your doing," **the green ranger said.

"No it wasn't," he said. "You took her from me."

"**You think so? Think again." **

His brows furrowed as he listened to the words. "I didn't do this."

"**Oh really? Look down."**

He did and was shocked when he saw himself in the green ranger uniform. "No." he shook his head.

"**You killed her," **the voice taunted him. **"You must be truly evil to kill the one you love the most in cold blood. And she tried to help."**

"No," he shook his head again as he looked down at Kim. "I couldn't have…"

"**But you did," **the voice said. **"You killed her. Rita would be proud; her green ranger doing what she was trying to do all along and it was the heart to boot. Hahahahahaha."**

He watched Kim in despair. He wiped the blood from her lips as his tears fell on her face. He couldn't have done this; he wasn't evil. They had changed him…helped him overcome Rita's spell. He couldn't lose her…she was everything to him. But as the time passed, how much, he didn't know, the words of the green ranger couldn't help but to sink in and he found himself starting to believe. He had done this; he had done it before, but they had managed to stop him, but now, no one had been able to and he had destroyed the person that meant the most to him.

The green ranger's cruel laughter filled his ears as tears fell down his cheeks once more. He had no one to blame but himself. The pain was too much for him and he threw his head and screamed it all out; all the pain, the horror and the rage that he felt for what happened.

"It's my fault," he whispered. "I was too weak to stop it; too weak to fight the pull. I killed her. I killed her. No one else but me. I truly am evil."

"Now that's just not true," a voice said.

He ignored it; not wanting to hear anything else.

"Come on bro," the voice sounded amused and exasperated. "Are you really going to sit there and ignore me?"

It was the bro that did it; only one person ever called him that. He looked up and saw Jason standing there.

"That's more like it," Jason smiled. "Now, would you please tell me why you keep repeating that you're weak or you're not strong enough to be one of us?"

"Look what I did Jason!" he yelled. "I killed Kimberly."

"Did you?" Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Yes I did," he said. "It's my fault she's gone."

"How is it your fault?" Jason asked as he walked over to him.

"Because I was…am evil!" he shouted, though Jason didn't seem fazed by it.

"So…you chose to be evil so that you could kill Kim?" Jason asked.

"Ye-no, I didn't," he shook his head. "But I could've fought harder. I could've tried harder to break the spell."

"Bro, listen to me," Jason crouched down next to him. "It is not your fault that Kim is dead. It's Rita's fault. You never asked to be the green ranger, she forced on it you. And you did try to fight it, remember? You fought to get away, but you were new, so you became overwhelmed quickly."

"But—

"And it's not because you're weak," Jason cut him off. "It's because you were the strongest of us all; Rita saw the potential in you and she wanted it. You think you're not strong enough to be one of us? You're wrong. Someone else would've left after the spell had been broken, but you didn't; despite everything you had gone through, you stayed and if that's not being strong, then I really don't know what strength is."

He looked at his friend and saw the true compassion and truth in his eyes, but he still couldn't say anything.

"Kim is gone yes, but it is not your fault," Jason continued. "She knew the risks Tommy, we all did. But she loved you and saving your life was more important to her than her own life. She knew she was the only one that could change you back. We all fought her, but as hard as it was to admit, we saw that she was right. She loved you Tommy, and she wouldn't have loved you if she thought you were truly evil."

"So…I'm not evil," he asked.

"No," Jason shook his head. "You're one of the best people I know. Now stop all this thoughts about being evil. You're a ranger and you're more than strong enough to be one of us."

He sat there and let Jason's words wash over him until they took root in his mind. Minutes passed before he made a move. He looked down at Kim and placed a soft and loving kiss on her lips before he gently eased her body from his. He placed her on the ground before standing up.

"You're right," he said to Jason.

"Of course I am," Jason joked. "You're the best of us Tommy. So get over this guilt trip, get rid of the thoughts about you being evil and be who you are…a ranger. So, hurry up; the others need you."

He closed his eyes, his mind going over everything he's been through since he was ranger; he almost felt overwhelmed because Kim was there with him in every situation and she wouldn't be anymore. But he also knew she wouldn't like him to keep blaming himself for what happened; she would've told him it was beyond his control and he should move on. He had no idea how he would go on without her or even if he would want to, but right now, he would be what she loved best about him; he would help his friends.

_**Congratulations ranger. You have faced your greatest fear and overcame it. The strength and loyalty that you've shown through even your greatest loss is commendable and you, just as the others, deserve this. So come forward and claim your falcon…both he and your lady are waiting.**_

He opened his eyes and saw that both Jason and Kim's body had disappeared; he remembered their words and a small smile came on his face. "Thanks guys."

He walked forward, towards the white light, his smile wider when he saw his falcon flying towards him. The moment they touched, the falcon let out a cry and the two disappeared.

~…~

The sound of water could be heard when the white light cleared away from him and when he looked up, he saw why; there was a small lake with a waterfall just a few feet away.

"Tommy!" he heard and he looked towards the noise and saw Rocky waving at him; standing next to him was Billy and Adam. With a smile, he jogged over to them.

"Hey guys," Tommy said as he joined them.

"Hey man," Adam said as the two shared a manly hug.

"Man, am I so glad to see you," Rocky said as he hugged him as well.

"So am I," Billy smiled as he and Tommy hugged. "I have to admit, I was a little worried, but I see that it was unnecessary."

"Too true Billy," Rocky laughed.

"Where's Kim?" Tommy asked as he looked around.

"Figures he'd ask for her first," Aisha said as she walked up to them. "Hey Tommy."

"Sha," Tommy smiled as the two hugged.

"She's over there," Aisha said as she pointed to where Kim was.

Tommy looked in the direction and saw Kim sitting on a rock. A huge smile lit up his face and he headed in her direction. Kim must have heard him, because before he even got to her, she looked over at him.

"Tommy!" Kim cried when she saw her boyfriend. She flew from her sit and into his arms. "You're ok."

"I am," Tommy laughed as he held her tight. He pulled back to look at her before he leaned down to kiss her. "I love you Beautiful."

"I love you too Handsome," Kim smiled before she leaned up to kiss him again.

"So we all made it," Adam said as he and the others joined them.

"Yes we did," Kim laughed before she pulled Aisha into a hug with her and Tommy.

"Group hug!" Rocky yelled and he joined the three of them. Billy and Adam shared a look before they joined the hug.

"_Well done rangers," _the voice from earlier spoke up, startling the rangers out of the hug. _"You have passed and the first quest and can now lay claim to your spirit animals and their full potential."_

"Thank you," Aisha said.

"_You are welcome," _the voice said. _"And now, to grant them to you."_

A bright light glowed over the lake and the rangers shielded their eyes. When the glow faded, a young woman stood there. She had strawberry blond hair that fell in ringlets down her back, stopping about an inch about the small of her back; her hazel eyes glowed as did the smile on her face. She was wearing a long, flared skirt that swished as she walked over to them and she was wearing a blue long-sleeved top.

"Who are you?" Adam asked.

"_I am Alexia," _the woman said. _"I was one of the Ninjetti."_

"Whoa," Rocky breathed.

"No way," Kim said.

"_Yes," _Alexia smiled. _"But no more about me; I believe I came here to do something."_

The rangers immediately became serious and they disentangled to stand in a line; starting with Billy and ending with Rocky.

Alexia moved until she was standing in front of Billy. _"William; you faced your fears and accepted your faults with all the strength and grace of a ranger. You are strong; you have grace and loyalty. You are Ninjetti; claim the power of your blue wolf…claim Damien as your own."_

Blue lights surrounded Billy and when they cleared, he was standing there in the uniform. The uniform was the same as his previous one, except the blue on this one was a darker tint and the top of his helmet was curved into two wolf ears. On the front where his animal lay, instead on the whole wolf, was the face of the wolf looking out with its mouth open in a roar.

"Whoa," Billy breathed as he looked down at himself.

"_You and Damien are one," _Alexia continued. _"You have senses of the wolf as well as their cunning."_

Alexia smiled as she moved on to Adam. _"You were the frog prince, but things have changed and so have you. You faced your greatest fear and even then you saw what your life was like after that. You've shown loyalty, even when it was not shown that it was not needed. You have grown and so have your animal. You are no longer the frog prince, you are now the loyal lynx. Claim him…claim Adrian."_

Black surrounded Adam and when they cleared, he stood in his uniform; like Billy's, his helmet had ears on the side, and on the front, the face of a lynx now lay there.

"Wow," Adam said as he held his hands in front of him. "Amazing."

"_You and Adrian are one," _Alexia said. _"Like the lynx, you are fast, fierce and loyal; you also have the senses of your lynx."_

Next in line was Aisha. _"You need not fear for your strength is what she needed. It is your strength that helps the others; never doubt your worth yellow bear. You are strong enough to gain these powers. Claim her…Lexa is waiting for you."_

Aisha smiled when the yellow glow surrounded her. When it disappeared, she was standing in the uniform. Her yellow was a shade darker, on the front, her bear was facing outward with its mouth open in a roar and unlike her previous uniforms, this one had a skirt. To her shock, and the shock of the others, inside the mouth of the bear was a tiny crane.

"_You and Lexa have re-connected before and the connection between the two of you is even stronger," _Alexia smiled. _"The crane in Lexa's mouth signifies the bond that the two of you have; a true bond…a sister bond. You have the strength of a bear as well as the power to make yourself appear as big as one."_

She stopped in front of Kim and her smile was slightly wider than the other two. _"You my dear are very special. You have been through a lot; from childhood until now and you have come out stronger. You've soared through your troubles like the graceful and agile crane that you are. The bond between you and Shalimar re-connected and has proved to only grow stronger over the years. She is waiting Kimberly…claim her."_

Lights surrounded Kim, however, instead of being all pink, they had white in between them. When they cleared she was standing in her uniform; it was the same as when she had donned the first time. It was pink, with white outlining the edges; on her breast plate was a pink crane intertwined with a white falcon; her skirt, instead of being straight, flared slightly like the tail of her crane.

"_Like the crane, you have the ability to control the air to your advantage," _Alexia said. _"An advantage that you have already used to help your falcon re-gain himself. I need not tell you of your powers as you have already touched them. The falcon shows the strong bond to your mate; it also means your powers are interchangeable."_

Kim shared a smile and a look with Tommy.

Alexia moved on the next in line; Tommy. _"Like your mate, you have surpassed trials that life and the powers has thrown at you. You have shown courage and strength where anyone else would've given up. Even in your greatest fear _(here, Tommy looked at Kim) _you were able to draw courage to move through it to do the right thing. You my dear are the Falcon, the true Winged Lord of the Skies."_

White lights surrounded Tommy, only they had pink mixed between. When the lights cleared, they saw that Tommy's uniform was the exact opposite of Kim's; where she had white lining her uniform, he had a pink outline and on his chest plate, his falcon was intertwined with a crane.

"_There is not much I can say to you that I haven't told your mate," _Alexia smiled. _"Brennan is just as much yours as you are his."_

The rangers chuckled at this and Alexia moved to the final one.

"_Ricardo," _She started. _"You have shown that there is more below the exterior that you portray to others. You've faced your greatest fear and you shall be a better man for it. Jesse is waiting for you…claim him."_

Red lights surrounded Rocky and when they cleared, he was standing in his uniform. It hadn't changed much; the only difference was that the red was a shade darker and like the others, his ape was standing on its hind legs, its mouth open in a roar.

"_Like Jesse, you are playful and you are strong," _Alexia said. _"You've already tapped into his powers. Have faith in him and yourself and your powers."_

Alexia stepped back and looked at the six rangers. _"I am proud that all of you managed to get past this quest. Many that came before could not overcome their greatest fear, but you have. Congratulations."_

"Thank you," the six said as one.

"_Rest," _Alexia said. _"The second half of your quest will begin soon."_

With that, she disappeared in a swirl of lights. The rangers looked at each other.

"Well," Tommy said as he unclasped his helmet. When the others saw what he did, they took theirs off as well.

"Can you believe that?" Aisha turned wide eyes to the group. "We did it…we actually did it."

"I know," Kim squealed before she pulled her best friend into a hug.

"It feels different," Billy said as he held his hands in front of him. "It feels stronger…more powerful."

"I feel the same way," Rocky nodded in agreement as did Adam and Tommy.

"Look at these suits," Aisha gushed.

"Looks like you finally got your skirt," Kim laughed.

"I am so happy for that," Aisha smiled before she looked down at herself. Her eyes caught on the image on the plate on her chest and she touched it gently with a soft smile. She looked up at Kim and smiled at her.

"It doesn't surprise me," Kim said. "You're the first one she went to with everything that has happened and you're the first one I called when Tommy had gone missing."

"True sisters," Rocky laughed as he shook his head. "That doesn't surprise me either."

"I think the only thing that did surprise me," Tommy said, "was Adam's animal changing."

"That surprised even me," Adam chuckled. "But I guess I can understand why it did."

Tommy de-morphed, and the others followed. He sat on the ground, leaning against the rock and Kim moved to sit between his knees while the others sat next to and around them.

"The Lynx, The Wolf, The Ape, The Bear, The Crane and The Falcon," Billy mused. "The six Ninjetti…"

"It's surreal, right?" Rocky laughed. "So…when do you think the other part of the quest will start?"

"I don't know," Kim shook her head. "But I do know we need to pass it and go back to destroy Nerian."

"That will never happen!" a voice shouted at them. They looked up and saw a being standing there.

"Who are you?" Adam asked as he and the others moved to their feet and take a fighting stance.

"I am Kraken," the being said. "The general for King Nerian and I have come to destroy you and take the power for my master."

The rangers stared at him. They couldn't understand how he had gotten there, but they knew they would fight him. They took in Kraken's appearance and saw that he was half man, half robot and he reminded Tommy of Zeltrax; he also had four extra limbs, two on each side, and they figured that that would be why he was named Kraken as he strongly reminded them of an octopus.

"Yeah well," Rocky said. "I don't know how you got here, but you are not getting that power and especially not for your master."

"We shall see," Kraken said and that was all the warning they had before he attacked them. the rangers quickly recovered from the attack before sharing a look; Tommy didn't even need to ask, they quickly called on their powers:

"THE CRANE!"

"THE FALCON!"

"THE APE!"

"THE BEAR!"

"THE WOLF!"

"THE LYNX!"

"NINJETTI POWER!" they shouted as one. When they were done, the rangers stood there in their uniforms once more.

They said nothing as they attacked Kraken. They instinctively called upon the Ninja powers and were a blur as they attacked him. Sparks flew from Kraken as the blows from the rangers connected.

"Give it up Kraken," Tommy called out as the rangers stood a slight distance away. "You will never get the powers."

"Yes I will," he vowed before he pulled out a gun and fired a strong blast at them. They dodged it, but the force that came from it as it connected with the cliff behind them threw them off balance.

They fought and the fight was tougher than any of the minions they had ever faced before, but they weren't the only one feeling that way. Kraken himself was amazed at the skill of the rangers. Of all the teams he had fought, none had ever fought the way this one did.

"Time for some Ape power," Rocky muttered as he dropped to his knees. He lifted his clasped hands above his head and brought them down on the ground. When he did, the power flew from his hands through the ground, the force of it had the place trembling. The power went directly towards Kraken and it exploded underneath, sending him off his feet and in the air; he landed a distance away.

Kraken growled as he moved to his feet, but as soon as he got there, he was down again as he was attacked by a blue and black blur.

"Now you see us," Adam said as he delivered a kick to Kraken's back.

"Now you don't," Billy finished as struck him across the head.

The two raced back to the others and took on the fighting stance as Kraken moved to his feet once more.

"We will destroy you Kraken," Tommy said.

"Destroying me will require power and the power might destroy this place," Kraken sneered. "You would destroy the housing for the Ancient Power?"

The rangers shared a look.

"If destroying the temple means you can't get the power," Aisha said. "Then that is what we'll do."

"You would lose out on the power yourself," Kraken growled. "You would not destroy your only chance at hoping to defeat my master."

"Yes we would," Kim said. "As much as we would like to get the power, we will destroy it to prevent you from getting it."

"We might be getting rid of the only chance we have to stop Nerian," Tommy added. "But we would rather not have them than to see him get them."

"You will lose," Kraken said.

"Be that as it may," Billy shrugged. "But we will not stop trying."

"And even if we lose," Rocky continued. "We can honestly say we did everything in our power to stop that."

"Nothing is more important that the lives of the innocent," Adam added. "And we know just how powerful Nerian will be if he gains the Ancient Power and we will not let them happen."

"So if destroying the temple means we don't get the power," Tommy finished. "We don't mind, because it means that neither will Nerian."

"You are fools," Kraken growled. "And I will take pleasure in destroying you."

"You can try," Kim said as she summoned her sword. "But we sure as hell aint going down without a fight."

The fight was on again. The rangers fought with renewed courage and gave as good as they got. And so did Kraken. The two separate powers fought as they tried to outdo the other and destroy them. It was inevitable as to who would win the battle.

"CRANE POWER WIND BLAST!" Kim shouted. A powerful wind picked up around her, swirling with the pink of her powers before it moved towards Kraken. The force of it knocked him away until he crashed into the Cliffside. The rangers moved together.

"You're done Kraken," Tommy said.

"You will destroy the temple!" Kraken yelled.

"So be it," Aisha said. "Let's do it guys."

"NINJETTI POWER BLAST!" the six roared as one. The rangers glowed their respective colors as their animals came out. The animals roared before they took off towards Kraken. When they were mere feet away from him, they combined before slamming into him. When the dust cleared away, Kraken was no more; he was destroyed and so was half of the Cliffside.

"We did it," Rocky said as he powered down. "We destroyed Kraken."

"Do you think we destroyed the temple as well?" Aisha asked. "And the Ancient Powers?"

"I'm not sure," Tommy shook his head as he powered down as well; the others followed suit.

"Even if we did," Kim said. "It was worth it."

"Kim's right," Billy said. "We couldn't allow Nerian to get his hands on the power."

"So," Adam looked around. "How do we get home?"

"Home?" Rocky grunted. "We still have to go through the last quest, remember? Although I don't know why we'd go through it when we already destroyed the power."

"_And who said that the power was destroyed?" _Alexia's voice sounded as she materialized in front of them.

"What do you mean Alexia?" Aisha asked.

"_Exactly what I said," _Alexia smiled at them. _"The power has not been destroyed."_

"So that means we still have to go on our quest," Adam said.

"_No my lynx," _Alexia shook her head. _"You have already completed and passed the quest."_

"What?" the rangers looked at each other before looking back at Alexia.

"How can that be?" Tommy asked.

"_The second part of the quest would've been a test," _Alexia explained. _"You would've had to show you truly deserved the powers and for that to happen, you would've been offered a choice. The battle with Kraken, though unexpected, did exactly what the quest would've asked of you."_

Billy's eyes widened as he understood what she was saying.

"_The cunning of the wolf is shown as he has figured it out," _Alexia smiled.

"Figured what out?" Rocky asked.

"The quest was in the battle," Billy explained.

"How?" Kim asked.

"We chose to destroy Kraken and in doing so, we thought we were destroying the Ancient Power as well," Billy said. "From what I understand, our quest would've offered us that same choice, and since we made a decision when we destroyed Kraken—

"Which was to destroy the powers to stop him from getting them even if it meant we wouldn't," Aisha picked. "We were actually fulfilling the requirements of the actual quest."

"_Exactly," _Alexia nodded.

"So are you saying we passed?" Rocky asked.

"_The Ancient Power is not a solid thing," _Alexia explained. _"It is not like you power coins…physical things that you can touch to tap into the power. The Ancient Power is power that is revealed only to those that truly deserve it. When the six of you chose to sacrifice the powers instead of allowing either yourself or Kraken to get it, you proved you did deserve them because it was shown that though the powers were what you wanted, it was not worth the life of everyone else."_

"So we passed the test?" Kim asked; hope was building inside her.

"_You did," _Alexia smiled. _"And it is my honor to bestow the powers of Goddess, the Ancient Power, upon you."_

She held out her hands towards them. _"Honor, courage, strength, loyalty and grace; you have fought will all these and more. You have shown that itis not your powers thatt make you rangers but rather your spirit…your character. You are the Ninjetti and now, you have proven that you do deserve the right to call upon them. By the grace of the Goddess, I bestow her powers, the Ancient Power, unto you."_

Lights surrounded them and when they cleared, they were once again standing in their suits. The suits hadn't changed, but the rangers felt stronger than before.

"_You now have power over the elements," _Alexia said. _"Kimberly, Thomas, as Lady and Lord of the skies, your control of the air element will be much greater than the others. Ricardo and Aisha, your control of the earth and plant elements will be greater than the others. William and Adam, your control of the water element will be greater than the others. The control of the fire element is equal amongst the six of you. Congratulations rangers."_

"Thank you," Tommy said.

"Do you have any idea as to how we will get home?" Adam asked.

"_Rely on your instincts," _Alexia smiled. _"You have the powers of a Goddess among you…use it. Good luck ranger." _With that, she disappeared in a swirl of colors.

"Time to go home," Aisha said.

"But how do we do it?" Rocky asked.

"We use our instincts," Kim smiled. "Power down."

"Why did you do that?" Adam asked.

"Let's leave it as a surprise for the others," Kim smiled before she held out her hands to her side. The others followed suit before Tommy and Aisha moved to either side of her to take her hand. Rocky took Aisha's, while Billy took Tommy's and Adam took Rocky's.

"Trust your instincts," Kim repeated Alexia's words before she closed her eyes and focused on Tommy's basement. The others nodded at each other before they mimicked her. Seconds later, colors surrounded them; they glowed bright and when it cleared away, the rangers were gone.

* * *

**A/N 3: **so, the rangers faced their fears and passed the quest. As for Adam, for those that wanted his animal to stay the same, I hope you're ok with the explanation I gave. Nothing else to say, so just read and review and let me know what you think.

Kila.


	7. Ch 6: Calm Before the Storm

**A/N: **ok, new chapter for you guys. thanks to everyone that has reviewed this story.

**Hewhoreaps:** this is one is shorter *smiles*

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot…and Nerian…and Kraken…and the K-Bots…hmmm *thoughtful look face*…maybe I should take over the world *shakes head* nah…too much work…the rangers are not mine.

**O.P.D.: **Saturday, 18th, September '10.

* * *

_Last time on RAN:_

"_Time to go home," Aisha said._

"_But how do we do it?" Rocky asked._

"_We use our instincts," Kim smiled. "Power down."_

"_Why did you do that?" Adam asked. _

"_Let's leave it as a surprise for the others," Kim smiled before she held out her hands to her side. The others followed suit before Tommy and Aisha moved to either side of her to take her hand. Rocky took Aisha's, while Billy took Tommy's and Adam took Rocky's._

"_Trust your instincts," Kim repeated Alexia's words before she closed her eyes and focused on Tommy's basement. The others nodded at each other before they mimicked her. Seconds later, colors surrounded them; they glowed bright and when it cleared away, the rangers were gone._

* * *

The rest of the former rangers were scattered around Tommy's place. They hoped that things had gone ok for the six, but they knew that they wouldn't be fine until they heard something or until their six friends returned. It's only been a day, but that didn't stop them from being worried.

While Hayley and the other techs stayed in the basement, the others were outside. Jason was doing katas with Zack and the others had split off into groups of colors; reds, along with Hunter, Blake and the other blues, greens, whites, blacks, yellows and pinks. The odd colors, like Ryan and Eric, etc. came together.

"What do you think's happening?" Zack asked as he blocked a move.

"I don't know man," Jason shook his head. "But I hope everything's going fine."

"I hope nothing happens to them as well," Zack said, "especially Tommy and Kimberly."

"I agree," Jason nodded as he ducked a punch. "If something happens to either one…man, I don't even want to think about what would happen."

Zack nodded in agreement before he concentrated on the sparring; seconds later, he found himself on his back.

"Here man," Jason said as he held out his hand. Zack grabbed it and pulled himself to his feet.

"Let's not think of any bad thing and jinx it," Jason said.

"Sounds good," Zack laughed and the two walked over to where Trini was sitting on the steps with the other yellows.

"You ok?" Trini asked when Jason sat next to her, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"Fine," Jason nodded, "just my big brother and leader instincts running wild."

"They'll be fine," Trini smiled as she rubbed his head.

"We just have to keep believing that," Ashley said and the others nodded.

"Believe what?" Zhane asked as he and the others walked over to the group.

"That the guys are fine," Angela W., Zack's girl, said.

"We can't afford to think otherwise," Conner said as he picked up Kira before sitting down with her on his lap. "We need to stay positive because the alternative is just too bad to think about."

"He's right," Tanya nodded with a smile in his direction.

"Man," Ethan shook his head. "I cannot believe you're the same person I've spending the past year with; it's like you're a totally different person…not that that's a bad thing."

"Guys," Andros opened the door and everyone turned to look at him. "We have a problem."

The rangers didn't waste any time and they all hurried into the house and down to the basement. They saw Hayley, Billy, Angela Rawlins and Cam sitting at the computers.

"What's going on?" Max asked as the group settled around the room.

"Look," Cam said as he pointed to the screen.

"Holy shit!" Mike said and everyone else echoed his statement. On the screen was an army of Kronobots walking through the streets and destroying everything in their path.

"No way," Carlos shook his head.

"It's going to take more than two teams to stop them," Eric said.

"We'll go," Carter said. "We can't keep sending out the new guys."

"We'll go too," Leo said.

"So will us," Kat said as she gestured to her, Tanya and Justin.

"Alright," Jason and the others nodded.

"SHIFT INTO TURBO!" Kat, Tanya, Justin and surprisingly Joey, shouted.

"Lightspeed, Rescue!" The LSR team shouted.

"Titanium Power!" Ryan yelled.

"Go Galactic!" the Galaxy team shouted.

"Let's go," Leo said and the three teams teleported out.

Seconds later, the alarm rang through the basement once more.

"Now what?" Cole asked.

"More Kronobots," Andros said. "A lot more Kronobots and they're not alone."

"Who is that?" Cassie asked as she looked at the screen.

"I think that might be Nerian," TJ said.

"We're going," Trini said.

"Alright," Jason and Zack nodded.

"It's Morphin time!" Jason shouted.

"MASTODON!"

"SABERTOOTH TIGER!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS!"

Andros shared a look with his team. "Guys?"

"They're going to need help," Zhane said.

"We need to help," Ashley said.

"Let's Rocket!" Andros shouted and the Space team morphed into their suits.

"We're coming," Cole gestured to his team, along with the two Time Force rangers.

"Wild Access!" the Wild Force team shouted.

"Time for, Time Force!" Wes yelled out.

"Quantum Power!" Eric called out.

When they were morphed, the three set of teams, teleported out of the basement, leaving the Dino Thunder and Ninja Storm teams behind; Conner turned to the others.

"They're right," he said. "But if anything happens, we need to go out there."

"We know," Shane nodded. "For now all we can do is wait and see how everything goes."

The others nodded and turned their attention to the screen.

~…~

When the teams landed, they shared a look before they got down to business; they attacked immediately.

The TURBO rangers immediately went after one set of K-bots, while the LSR and LG teams went after another set. The rangers fought and destroyed some of the K-Bots, but they got their asses kicked as well. It soon became clear to them that these K-Bots were different and that what the others were saying was true; the K-Bots were stronger than anything they'd ever face.

"Wow," Kat groaned as she and the others were thrown back. "The guys were right; these robots are tougher."

"You ok?" Joey asked as he moved to her side to help her to her feet.

"I'm fine," Kat assured him as he helped her up. "Let's get back to work."

"OK," Joey nodded and the two joined the fight once more.

~…~

Across town, the other three teams landed; like the others, they didn't wait before they attacked. Zack was chuckling as he fought the K-Bots while Jason and the others shook their heads.

"Girl Power?" Ashley asked as she and Trini ended up back to back.

"Definitely," Trini nodded; she held out her hands and Ashley held onto them, allowing Trini to spin her around, knocking away the K-Bots that were surrounding them.

"Daggers!" Trini called out. When they appeared in her hands, she twirled them before moving to the closest K-Bot and taking its head off, destroying it.

Cassie ended up in a three-way with Dana and Alyssa. "All us pinks?" she quipped.

"Technical white," Alyssa smiled as she fought away a K-Bot.

"Details," Dana chuckled as she fought some away as well.

"Girls," Carter's amused voice came over the headway. "A little less talking a lot more fighting?"

"Got it boss man," Alyssa quipped. The three girls stayed together and fought through the K-Bots.

"Who are you?" Jason called out as he faced off against the one that had come with the K-Bots.

"Are you Nerian?" Cole asked as he stood next to him.

"Fools," the being chuckled, "you don't get the pleasure of seeing my Lord as yet. This is just a warning for all you rangers. He will defeat you."

"Oh really?" Andros said. "Then why send you? Or is he too weak and scared to face us?"

"How dare you?" The being roared before he attacked; he fired a beam towards them and the guys jumped out of the way.

"I think we pissed him off," Jason chuckled as he moved back to his feet.

The being attacked them, catching them the moment they stood up.

"You think so?" Andros groaned as he and the others were thrown backwards.

The being didn't give them a chance as he attacked once more. The guys were forced to truly fight back. They were thrown back again, landing a few feet away from the others who were thrown by the K-Bots.

"Damnit," Danny groaned as he rolled over to his side.

"Man," Max groaned from right beside him. "That was harsh."

"We can't give up," Ryan said. "We have to destroy them."

"Let's fight," Zhane said. "Show them what the rangers are all about."

"Right," the rangers echoed.

The rangers came together and renewed their attacks on the K-Bots and the being, forcing them to back away. They didn't allow the K-Bots or the being to gain an upper hand. They worked as one and realized that their practice sessions paid off; with them learning how to work with other team members, they worked effortlessly and effectively.

After a blast by both Jason and Andros, the being was blasted backwards along with the remaining K-Bots.

"You will never defeat us," the being said as he struggled to his feet.

"Wanna bet?" Eric yelled out. The rangers took a fighting position once again but before they could attack, both the being the K-Bots disappeared.

"What the hell?" Wes asked as he looked around.

"Where did they go?" Taylor asked.

"I don't know," Cole said. "But we should keep our eyes peeled."

"_Where the hell did these come from?" Kat's voice echoed over the comms._

"_Who is that?" Mike asked._

"Now we know where they are," Zack said.

"Guys," TJ raised his wrist to his mouth. "Where are you?"

"_Downtown," Justin answered with a grunt, "near the park."_

"We're on our way," Carlos said and the rangers looked at each other before teleporting.

~…~

"Damnit," Leo exclaimed as he ducked a blow from a K-Bot. "There's more of these guys?"

"Unfortunately," Carter grunted as he kicked a K-Bot away from him. He had just removed the head of a K-Bot when the others teleported in.

"Need help?" Cole asked.

"Cole," Ryan growled.

"Sorry," Cole said as he and the others joined the fray.

The fighting resumed and the being upped his attack on the rangers. The newly joined rangers upped their game as well and soon the fight was intense.

"Die," a K-Bot growled out as it released a beam from the center of its chest.

"Whoa!" the rangers yelled out as the beam blasted them backwards.

"What the fuck was that?" Joel asked.

"Something new," Joey muttered. "They never had that ability before."

"My master upgraded his army," the being laughed. "You will fail against them and him."

"You've been saying that all day," Zack yelled out as he moved to his feet. "But you still haven't done anything."

"Foolish human," the being snarled. "K-Bots attack!"

"Here we go," Kai muttered.

~…~

Conner paced the basement as he watched the screen with the others. Hayley, Cam, Karone and Angela Rawlins sat at the computers while the rest sat around the room.

"Conner," Krista looked up at her friend and teammate. "Could you please stop pacing? It's making me a little dizzy."

"Sorry Kris," Conner sighed as he came to a stop next to Kira who reached out and grabbed his hand. "I'm just worried."

"We all are," Hunter said from his spot next to Cam. "We all want to be out there helping, but they don't need us as yet."

"He's right," Ethan said. "Until they call us, we have no choice but to wait."

"I know," Conner said. "But knowing that doesn't make it any easier."

"We know," Tori smiled at him. Conner nodded and the two teams turned back to the screen. They watched as more of the robots showed up where the first team of rangers was, along with the being. Seconds later, the other teams joined them. They watched as the teams destroyed most of the robots and their eyes grew wide when they saw the upgrade the K-Bots got.

"Shit!" Blake exclaimed his eyes wide; the others echoed his sentiment.

~…~

The rangers couldn't dodge the blasts from all the K-Bots, so they allowed themselves to be hit, calling on their powers to ward off the majority of the blast.

"Damnit all," Chad Lee grunted.

They moved to their feet and attacked. They were relentless and did not allow the K-Bots to release another attack like that again.

"Power Axe!" Zack called. "How do you like this?" he held the Axe above his head before he slammed it on the ground. It sent a shockwave towards the K-Bots and when it reached them, an explosion rocked them. When the dust cleared, the robots were destroyed.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Zack laughed. He lost his smile immediately when he felt a punch to his back, throwing him off his feet. "Whoa."

"Are you kidding me?" Tanya breathed. "There's more?"

She was right; coming down the streets were more robots.

"Uhm…," Eric raised his wrist to his mouth. "The Ninja Storm and Dino team should probably come out." he paused, watching as the robots grouped together forming a small army that was almost three times bigger than the rangers together. "Yeah, they should definitely come."

~…~

Conner looked at the others. "Let's go."

"Dino Thunder, Power Up!" Conner, Kira and Ethan yelled.

"White Ranger, Dino Power!" Trent called.

"Pink Ranger, Dino Power!" Krista shouted.

"Black Ranger, Dino Power!" Angela shouted.

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" Shane, Dustin and Tori shouted.

"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!" Blake and Hunter yelled.

"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!" Cam shouted.

Morphed, the two teams teleported out.

"Good luck guys," Angela Rawlins said before she turned back to the screen.

~…~

The DT and NS teams teleported in the middle of the battle and immediately jumped in to help. Kira ended next to Trini and Kelsey, Krista next to Ashley and Dana, Tori next to her sister and Angela next to Maya and Alyssa. The guys were mixed in with the other boys.

The rangers fought, eliminating the robots left, right and center. They didn't give them a reprieve. Jason and Andros combined powers and destroyed the being with one well placed beam. They knew that he was nothing, just a general for Nerian, but they were glad nonetheless that he was gone. The two turned back to the others and jumped into the fray, taking out a few K-Bots.

Soon, they robots' numbers were diminishing and the rangers relished in the near victory.

~…~

Up on the moon Nerian scowled as he looked down at the scene.

"It is time they were acquainted with me," he said before he called his staff to him. When it was in his hands, he shimmered off of the balcony.

~…~

Back on Earth, the rangers had regrouped to deal with the remaining K-Bots.

"Heads up," Kira called as she turned her head towards the robots. Ethan, Connor and Trent, knowing what she was going to do, quickly told the others. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The rangers winced, but didn't stop their fighting. Kira's Ptera scream destroyed some of the robots, but not all. Now that most of the force of their enemy was gone, the rangers fought with a renewed strength. They had almost destroyed all the K-Bots when an explosion rocked the ground, knocking them off their feet.

When they regained their bearings and looked up and froze. There was a human looking being standing in front of them; he held a staff in one hand and the power rolling off him, left no doubt in their minds that this Nerian.

"So these are Zordon's rangers," Nerian sneered as he looked them over. "Pathetic."

"Let me guess," Cole said as he and the others moved to their feet. "You're Nerian."

"I am he," Nerian answered. "You rangers are no match for me and I will destroy you."

"That's the same thing every villain before you has said," Conner said. "And yet, we're still here."

"Your villains have nothing on me," Nerian chuckled. "Enough talking; it is time for your demise."

He fired a blast at them, which they dodged, but that gave him the opening to press an attack and he did. Soon the rangers realized he was right; their past villains had nothing on him. He was ruthless and relentless.

Another blast from Nerian had the rangers on the ground once more. Nerian looked around and saw the parts of the destroyed K-Bots and waved his hand over them, making the robots reassemble.

"Attack," Nerian ordered.

The Kronobots did not hesitate and did as their master ordered. The rangers groaned, not relishing the new fight, but knew they had to do it. Exchanging looks, they attacked as well.

"Why have you come here?" Leo asked as he attacked Nerian, only to be thrown back.

"To destroy you all," Nerian answered. He fought them, not even exerting any force.

Conner was fighting against some K-Bots when he heard a whimper. Decapitating the robots in front of him, he turned and tried to find the source of it. He found it a few feet away; inside of a flipped car was a little girl and heading towards her was a Kronobot. The robot lifted its arm to fire a beam at her.

"Look out kid!" he shouted. The robot was already releasing the beam and he used his super speed to the car. He got there just in time to grab the little girl and get her to safety. "Go." He said as he placed at an alleyway. Without looking back, the little girl ran to safety.

He turned and made his way back to the others. He got sidetracked by some robots. He fought his way through them and moved to go help the others. So focused was he, he didn't realize the danger he was in.

Nerian saw the red ranger save the little girl and he sneered. _'Always trying to save everybody…who's going to save him?' _he thought to himself. He raised his staff and pointed it at Conner. "Say goodbye red ranger." A beam of light shot out from the staff and made its way to Conner.

Trini, like the others, saw the beam's direction. She was the closest to Conner, and even as she yelled his name, she was moving towards him.

Hearing his name, Conner jerked to where Trini was; she collided with him and he felt a force push the two of them back. The others rangers yelled out when they saw what happened.

~…~

Hayley bit her lip as she watched the screen. Karone stood next to her, her hand on her shoulder, giving them both comfort.

"I really hate this guy," Angela Rawlins muttered.

"You and me both," Angela, Zack's girl, agreed.

"I think all of us do," Karone shook her head.

Hayley was about to add on to that when a sound came from behind them. The girls turned around and their eyes lit up in happiness and shock.

"It's about time," Hayley smiled; she knew now that things would be ok.

"What the hell was that little girl doing there?" Karone asked and she drew their attention to the screen. They watched as Connor save the little girl and gasps escaped the girls when they saw Trini take a hit that was meant for Conner.

"Let's go."

Angela turned to look at them. "Morph?"

"No," heads shook just seconds before they disappeared.

"Thank God they're back," Angela Warner sighed.

~…~

"Trini!" Jason yelled out along with the others. His heart was in his throat as he watched his wife get hit by the beam, sending her and Conner backwards. The others moved towards the fallen two while Jason turned to Nerian; behind his helmet, his eyes glowed with his rage. He was a red blur as he attacked Nerian and he pushed all his anger into his blows. He got in a hit before Nerian retaliated and punched him in his stomach, sending him to the ground.

"You're no match for me red ranger," Nerian taunted. He was about to attack Jason again but was hit from behind. He turned and recognized Joey. "I don't know how you followed me, but you will die just like these will…just like your friends."

"Not if I can help it," Joey grunted as he attacked. Jason moved back to his feet and helped him. The two fought Nerian, but they didn't do any damage; Jason was too angry and Joey was just no match for him. He sent a blast at the two of them, knocking them back. He walked up to them, ready to eliminate them when he was stopped.

Lights swirled between Nerian and Jason and Joey. When the lights cleared, the six ninjetti rangers stood there.

"No!" Nerian snarled when he saw them. Feeling the power around them, he knew his general hadn't been able to destroy them.

"Yes," Rocky mocked as he and the others took a fighting stance.

"Your general didn't stop us Nerian," Aisha said.

"He tried," Billy added with a smirk.

"But as you can see," Adam smiled. "We kicked his ass."

"And we stopped him from getting the power," Kim added.

"We got it instead," Tommy finished. "And now, we're going to stop you."

"Jase," Kim said to her big brother without removing her eyes from Nerian. "Go to Trini and get her and Conner out of here."

"Kim—

"She needs you right now," Kim cut him off. "Go on…the others are still here. We can handle it."

"OK," Jason nodded as he moved to his feet and made his way to his wife.

"You think you can defeat me?" Nerian sneered.

"We don't know," Billy shook his head.

"But we sure as hell gonna try," Rocky finished.

"Fools!" Nerian laughed. "So be it."

"Shouldn't you guys morph?" Cole asked as he and the other teams joined them. The NS and DT team had gone back to base with Jason and Trini as well as Dana as she was a medic for her own team.

"Ninja?" Tommy asked.

"Ninja," the others echoed.

"Falcon!"

"Crane!"

"Bear!"

"Wolf!"

"Ape!"

"Lynx!"

The six colors flashed and when they cleared away, they stood there in the ninja robes.

"The robots first," Aisha said. "Those damn things are causing too much trouble."

"Kim? Sha?" Tommy asked.

"We're on it," Kim said and the two girls moved from them and attacked the remaining robots.

"Let's do this," Adam said and that was the cue to attack. The four were a blur of colors as they attacked Nerian, who was caught off guard.

Getting out of their shock, the other teams quickly helped; half went towards Kim and Aisha and the other half helped the boys. The rangers fought with a renewed sense of vigor at the sight of their teammates.

"Sha?" Kim looked at her best friend. "Bear up."

"You got it," Aisha nodded with a smile on her face.

"What's "Bear up"?" Alyssa asked as she blasted a robot away from her.

"Watch," Kim said as she flipped over a robot before aiming at kick at its head, decapitating it.

Aisha stood in the middle of the girls. She closed her eyes and seconds later, she started glowing yellow. The others watched in shock as a small bear emerged from her chest before it grew as tall as a building. Aisha moved her hands and the giant bear followed her movements, like a puppet following its master. The bear moved until it was standing over the robots.

"Time to go," Aisha said before she lifted her foot in the air. The bear followed her movements and lifted its own before bringing it down on the robots, crushing them.

"Nice," Taylor chuckled.

"Take out the trash sis," Aisha said to Kim.

"You got it," Kim nodded. "Crane Wind!"

A huge wind picked up around the rangers before it headed towards the remains of the robots. They were picked up in it before they disintegrated.

"Ok," Kim said. "Let's go help the others."

TJ stared at the two girls in shock. He didn't know a ranger could even do that, but he wasn't complaining. He knew that it was due to whatever quest they were on and he was grateful for it.

"You rangers can't defeat me," Nerian said.

"You don't know that," Carter said as he dodged a blast before firing off one of his own.

"We could and will destroy you," Chad Lee added.

The others joined them and the rangers stood facing Nerian.

Nerian looked at them, before settling his gaze on the six ninjetti. He couldn't believe they had gained the power. He was beyond pissed, but he knew that he couldn't go up against them right away. He could sense the power flowing through them and knew that fighting them right now, would not be beneficial for him. He wanted their destruction, but he also knew he needed to form a better plan.

"It seems I need to reevaluate," Nerian stood tall. "Three days, rangers. In three days time, we will meet and we will fight and I will finally destroy Zordon's rangers." With those parting words, he shimmered out.

"Three days," Andros said and the rangers looked at each other.

"Let's get back to base," Tanya said. And multi-colored lights lit up the sky as the rangers teleported out.

~…~

When they touched down in the basement, the others looked up at them.

"Three days huh?" Hayley asked. "That's good; gives us time to recover and prepare."

"How are they?" Kim asked as she moved to where Conner and Trini were.

"Trini took the full force of the blast," Dana answered, "though Conner still got hit. It was enough to cause them to de-morph."

"Will they be alright?" Kai asked.

"I'm not going to lie," Dana said. "Conner's going to be fine, he's unconscious, but he should be waking up soon. It's Trini I'm worried about."

"What's wrong with her?" Zack asked as he looked down at his childhood friend.

"Like I said," Dana continued. "Trini took the full brunt of the attack. The power levels that Hayley registered from the guy is high, which meant his attack was just as powerful. The force of the blast damaged her back and caused her to hit her head which caused some bleeding which Angela and Karone was able to contain. She's unconscious and she will be for a few days. I wish we had a doctor. I may have medical training, but I need help, but we can't exactly go to the hospital. What would we tell them?"

"She's right," Karone said. "We're not sure who we can trust."

"_Tommy?" a female voice called from upstairs. "Are you here?"_

"Who is that?" Danny asked.

"Someone who can help us," Tommy smiled. "I'll be back." He left the others and headed upstairs.

"Joey?" Kat looked over at her boyfriend, who was looking a little pale. "What's wrong?"

At her inquiry, the others turned to look at Joey, with the exception of Kim, Jason and Kira, whose eyes were focused on the two on the stretcher.

"It wasn't supposed to be them," Joey whispered, but he was heard by everyone in the room, including Tommy and two others.

"What are you talking about?" Max asked.

"They weren't the ones that were supposed to get hit," Joey clarified. They looked at him in confusion before understanding came on Kat's face.

"That was it, wasn't it?" Kat asked. "That was when Kim died on your world."

"What?" the female with Tommy asked, her voice drawing everyone's attention.

"What the hell is going on?" the male asked as he looked around the room.

"Who are they and should they be down here?" Justin asked the question that was on almost everybody's mind.

"Guys it's fine," Tommy said. "These are my parents, James and Melissa Oliver and they already know."

"Know what?" Wes asked.

"If you're talking about being rangers," James said. "Then, we've known that since they were in high school."

"What did he mean by Kim being dying?" Melissa asked.

"Mom, dad," Kim moved from her spot and walked over to the two, pulling them into a hug. "I'm fine; it's not what you think."

"Is that Trini?" James asked as he looked to where Jason was sitting. "What the hell happened to her?"

"Well," Tommy explained everything to his parents. As he was talking, Melissa had let go of Kim and had walked over to where Trini was laying.

"Does she have internal bleeding?" Melissa asked as she looked over Trini.

"No," Dana shook her head. "I checked, but she hit her head pretty hard, she has about three bruised ribs and a sprained wrist."

"Will she still have to go to a hospital," Kim asked. "Or will she able to stay here?"

"I'd say hospital," Melissa answered. "I mean, unless you have some medical equipment lying around…"

"Actually," Andros spoke up. "I do. DECA?"

"_Yes Andros?"_

"Could you teleport some of the medical equipments out of the med bay to Tommy's basement?" he asked.

"_What specific equipments?"_

Andros looked at Melissa and when she called out what she would need, he repeated it to DECA. Minutes later, the equipments were teleported in and Andros, Melissa and Dana set them up. When they were done, they carefully moved Trini and connected her to them.

"She's lucky she was morphed when she was hit," Dana said. "It's the only thing that saved her spine from being damaged."

"Oh my God," Cassie whispered.

"Jase?" Kim touched his shoulder. "How are you holding up?"

"How do you think Kim?" Jason asked as he looked up at her. His tone was slightly biting. "My wife is lying there unconscious, so tell, how do you think I'm holding up?"

"I understand you're in pain over Tri," Kim narrowed her eyes at him. "But you don't have to use that tone with me. I love her too you know? Maybe not the same way you do, but I do."

"Sorry," Jason muttered before he looked back at Trini. He sighed before he rubbed his hand over his face. He turned back to Kim to say something, when a groan distracted him.

"Conner?" Kira leaned over her boyfriend as he shifted on the bed. She watched as his eye lids flutter and she squeezed his hand. "Come on babe, you can do it."

Conner's eyes fluttered once more before they opened slowly. The first thing he saw was the hazel-green eyes of his girlfriend.

"Welcome back jock," Kira smiled a teary smile.

"Ugh…what…what happened?"Conner asked.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Melissa asked as she walked over to him.

"Trini…she called my name," Conner said. "Then I felt something hit me and then nothing."

"Nerian fired a beam at you," Trent answered. "You didn't see it coming; Trini, she was the closest one to you and that hit you felt, it was her; she placed herself in front of you and took the hit."

"Is she…is she ok?" Conner asked even as he moved his head try and see. He spotted her lying on the table a few feet away. "Oh God."

"She's banged up really bad," Dana answered. "But she'll be fine…"

"I'm sorry," Conner said.

"You should be," Jason looked at him and the others gasped.

"Jason," Kim's voice held a warning tone; she knew he was angry and hurt, but she wasn't going to let him attack Conner.

"If you had been paying fucking attention," Jason ignored her, "she wouldn't have been hurt. Because of you, she's lying there right now."

"Jason Lee Scott, upstairs now!" Kim yelled out at her big brother.

"And if don't?" Jason looked at her. Tommy stepped forward, but didn't say anything. Best bud or not, if Jason did or say anything to Kim, he wouldn't let it go.

"Don't push me Jason Lee," Kim narrowed her eyes at him. "Upstairs, now!"

Jason said nothing, but turned around and went up the stairs. Kim sighed before she looked over at Conner.

"Don't think too much on it," She smiled at him. "After I'm done with him, I'll be back to talk with you."

"Ok," Conner nodded; he was a little hurt by Jason's words, but he knew the man was hurting because of what happened to Trini. If it was Kira lying there, he would've reacted the same way.

Kim smiled once more before heading up the stairs. Both Carter and Eric made to go after her, but they were stopped by James and Tommy.

"Trust me," Tommy shook his head. "You do not want to go up there."

"He's beyond pissed off," Carter frowned.

"Are you really going to let her be in a room alone with him?" Eric crossed his arms across his chest.

"Yes," James nodded. "Kim may look small and fragile, but she's anything but."

"Mr. Oliver's right," Adam said. "If either of us go up there to try and talk to him, he'll lash out, but he won't with Kim."

"Because through it all," Rocky picked up. "Jason sees Kim as his little sister. It's been that way since they were kids."

"She's the only one that will be able to calm him down," Billy said.

"Are you sure?" Dustin asked.

"You guys have never seen a pissed off Kimberly," Zack shook his head. "Jason, as angry as he is, has nothing on Kim when she's angry especially when it comes to someone she cares about."

"Trust us," Melissa piped up. "Kimberly can more than handle her big brother."

"Now," James clapped his hands together. "Tommy, tell me about this quest you went on."

~…~

Jason was pacing in the living room when Kim walked in.

"You want to tell me what the hell that was about?" she asked as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Trini's hurt," he answered curtly.

"Yes," Kim said. "I know that, what I'm talking about is the way you attacked Conner. You know it's not his fault."

"He should've been paying attention," Jason snapped.

"Are you kidding me?" Kim roared as she walked over to him. She knew he was hurting, and she was trying to be patient and understanding, but he was starting to push her. "And what was he supposed to do, allow that little girl to be killed? Or would you rather he had left the Kronobots and allow them to kill him or attack anyone else? "

Jason fell quiet as he listened to her.

"No one knew Nerian was going to fire that beam at him," Kim said. "And no one knew Trini was going to take the hit herself either. Conner is a ranger, just like you and just like Trini. We all knew the risks involved in this job and we do it anyways. You can't go around blaming the others just because the person you love is hurt."

"You just don't understand!" Jason yelled back. The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

"Right," Kim scoffed. "I don't understand what it's like to have the person you love lying on a table hurt because of our ranger duties. I don't understand how it feels to have fear coursing through you, along with worry, if they're going to be ok or not. Yes Jason, I don't understand."

She paused and took a deep breath and Jason knew she was going to start yelling. He was right.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" she asked, her eyes blazing. "HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING THAT TOMMY HAS BEEN THROUGH? EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH? DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME I DON'T UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND DAMN WELL BETTER THAN YOU DO!"

"Kim," Jason said as his anger drained out of him.

"It's always been us," Kim's voice had lowered. "Every time, it's either Tommy or me. I understand better than anyone, save for Tommy, how you feel right now, but Jase, it is no excuse to blame an innocent person. How would you feel if I had blamed you for what happened to Tommy or if Tommy had blamed you for everything that happened to me?"

Jason ducked his head in shame as her words swirled around in his mind.

~…~

Everyone was talking quietly when they heard Kim's voice.

"_Are you kidding me?"_

"Man," Hunter said as he raised his gaze to the ceiling. "She sounds pissed."

"Not yet," Aisha said, she was going to say something else, when they heard Jason's voice.

"_You just don't understand."_

"Now she is," Aisha muttered loud enough for the whole room to hear. "Boy is he stupid."

"He did not just say that?" Kat asked as she looked at her friends in disbelief.

"Jase man," Zack shook his head. "That's the wrong person you're talking to."

"He should've known better than to say something like that to Kim," Tommy shook his head. "She will not let that slide." He was right, seconds later, they heard Kim yelling.

"_ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" _the whole basement winced when they heard her voice. _"HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING THAT TOMMY HAS BEEN THROUGH? EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH? DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME I DON'T UNDERSTAND, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND DAMN WELL BETTER THAN YOU DO!"_

"Ouch," Eric cringed as he listened to Kim; he was beginning to understand why they didn't allow him and Carter to follow her. He didn't think he'd ever want to be on the receiving end of that.

It was quiet after that and they all looked at each other.

"You don't think she killed him, do you?" Trent asked. The original rangers, and Tommy's parents, laughed, but Trent didn't. "I'm serious; I mean, she sounds really pissed and I remember you guys warning us about getting on her bad side."

"Maybe she did," Rocky joked. "The only thing is, where would she hide the body?"

"She'd find a way," Adam chuckled.

"Too true," Aisha nodded with a smile.

"You guys aren't even a little concerned about what she could be doing to him?" Dustin asked.

"Nope," the rangers shook their heads. Seconds later, they heard footsteps on the stairs and everyone turned to look. Jason came in view first and his head was bowed, Kim followed behind him, her arms crossed and her eyes trained on Jason's form.

Jason said nothing as he walked passed everyone and walked over to where Conner was. Kira looked up at him, a slight glare on her face, but he took no notice of it.

"Jason," Kim's voice held a warning and the others couldn't help but to watch in amusement as the original red ranger was cowed by the original pink.

Jason sighed before he looked up at Conner. "I'm sorry, truly sorry for the way I went off on you. I shouldn't have blamed you for what happened to Trini, especially since it's not your fault and you were hurt along with her. I was wrong, and I'm sorry."

Conner looked at Jason before he shifted his gaze past him and locked eyes with Kim. They stared at each other for a few seconds, before he looked back at Jason.

"I'm not going to lie," Conner said. "It hurt to hear you say that, but I could understand where you were coming from. If it was Kira lying there, I would've reacted the same way or worse. I know you didn't mean it and I'm pretty sure Kim already gave you the dressing down."

"Yeah," Jason nodded sheepishly. "She did."

"I accept your apology and I forgive you for it," Conner said as he held out his hand. "Teammates?"

"Friends," Jason said as he shook Conner's hand.

"Ok," Kim laughed as she clapped her hands together before walking over and throwing her arms around both Jason's and Conner's necks. "Now that my boys are all better, I bet you guys want to hear about our quest?"

The rangers stared at her in shock, while the DT, Space, Original, James and Melissa laughed.

"Only you darling could go from scary mad to happy in sixty flat," Melissa smiled at Kim.

"Anyone else found that creepy?" Taylor asked and hands rose. "Ok, just checking."

Laughter echoed throughout the basement.

~…~

The rangers and civilians were sitting around the living room; Melissa had said Trini was stable and Conner was ok enough to move upstairs. Hayley and the other techs had done one last check, before they left the computers and went upstairs with the others; they wanted to hear about the quest as well. Kim, Tommy, Aisha and Rocky were sitting on the couch and Billy and Adam were sitting in front of them on the floor. Kim was leaning into Tommy's side, while Aisha did the same with Rocky. Billy was leaning against Kim's legs, and Adam was leaning against Aisha's. The others sat in various seats around the room.

"So," Carlos asked. "How was it?"

"It was fun," Rocky answered with a smile.

"It was great to be on Phaedos again," Aisha said. "It's too bad we couldn't get pictures to show you guys."

"We had tracked a signature leaving the moon and heading for you guys," Hayley said. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah," Adam nodded. "Nerian sent his general after us, but it turned out to be a good thing."

"How so?" Wes asked.

"When we got there," Billy said. "Dulcea told us our quest would be two-parts; the first part was individual and the second was a group effort. Nerian's general showed up after we completed the first part of the quest and were resting for the second part."

"We fought him," Aisha said. "And he taunted us that if we destroyed him, we'd destroy the Ancient Powers as well."

"We needed the powers," Kim picked up. "But we didn't want him to get it either, and if destroying him meant we lost our chance at getting the power, then so be it."

"But," Mike said. "You guys got the power. How?"

"We chose to destroy Kraken," Tommy said. At the confused looks, he explained. "Because we chose to destroy Kraken, regardless if the powers were destroyed as well, we gained them."

"That was what our test was about," Rocky said. "Would we sacrifice the powers or do anything to keep them, regardless of who got hurt."

"We knew Nerian would do serious damage if he got a hold of the powers," Kim said, "and we couldn't allow that to happen."

"So you destroyed Kraken," Kendrix said, "thinking you were destroying the powers as well."

"Yep," Tommy nodded. "The lady told us that that showed we truly deserved getting the Ancient Power."

"What was the first half of you quest?" Tanya asked.

"Facing our fears," Aisha answered.

"Like the Island of Illusions?" Jason asked.

"Worse," Kim shook her head even as a slight shudder went through her body as she remembered her fear.

"What we went through with Rita," Billy said, "was nothing compared to what we just went through."

"What were your fears about?" Angela J. asked. "If you don't mind my asking."

"It's fine," Aisha said. "I don't know what the others' fears were, but mine was about not being strong enough."

"How do you mean?" Alyssa asked.

"I wasn't strong enough to get the Ancient Power," Aisha explained. "And because of that, we lost."

"So, how did you get past it?" Kim asked. "Because you know you're one of the strongest people I know."

"Actually," Aisha smiled. "It's because of you Kim."

"Me?" Kim looked shocked.

"Yeah you," Aisha said. "Another Aisha showed up and told me that I was more than strong enough and that I did deserve the power. Her reasoning was, if I was strong enough to side against the guy I loved more than anything, then I was strong enough to get the powers."

"Wow," Tori said. "I guess though, that if you think about it, it makes sense."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked as he looked at his girlfriend.

"She was in love with Rocky," Tori said. "But yet, she went against her heart's love and stood with her best friend. Not many people can do that."

"That's what the other Aisha said," Aisha laughed. "Kim's my sister…I'll always stand by her side."

"Same here," Kim looked over at Aisha and smiled. "Except when it comes to Tommy…sorry, but that's my man."

"Kim!" Aisha laughed, as did everyone else, and reached out to smack Kim. "Thanks a lot."

"Love you," Kim laughed.

"Yeah, yeah," Aisha smiled.

"My turn," Rocky said. "My fear was never being forgiven by Kim and that caused me to lose everyone, including Aisha."

"How did you get over it?" Krista asked.

"Kim came to me," Rocky said, to the shock of the others, excluding Billy and Adam.

"I did?" Kim was shocked once more.

"Well," Rocky said, "more like another you. When I had my fear, I felt overwhelming despair and my heartbreaking. I remember asking if that was how you felt when we hadn't listened. I was told yes and then I was offered a choice to make it disappear but I chose not. I felt like I deserved to feel that way because of the way I had treated you. You came to me and told me that I had already earned back your forgiveness and that we'd always be brother and sister. After that, I believed it and I was given the powers of the ape."

"I didn't realize we could jump into each other's fears like that," Kim shook her head.

"Same thing happened to me," Adam said.

"Me as well," Billy said.

"What?" Tanya asked.

"Like Rocky," Adam said. "My fear was not being forgiven by Kim. I was shown how Kim's life had been when we refused to talk to her and it near killed me to see her in so much pain. Because Kim never forgave me, or us, our bond was never repaired and we lost in the battle against Nerian.

"After seeing that, I was filled with agony, but then Kim came to me. She told me she was still my sister and that despite my not getting her forgiveness, I still stayed loyal to her; because of that, my spirit animal changed from the Frog to the Loyal Lynx."

"Your spirit animal was a frog?" Blake asked.

"Yeah," Adam nodded with a smile. "I didn't like it either the first time around, but it grew on me."

"What about you Billy?" Melissa asked. "What was your fear?"

"Like Adam and Rocky," Billy said. "My fear was mostly about Kim not forgiving me and then it was about my inability to solve a problem. I thought that since I was a genius, I should've seen that everything wasn't as it seems…I should've seen that the letter was a lie and I should've seen the way Tommy was acting after getting the letter, but I didn't.

"And then I got two visitors. Zordon and Kim."

"You saw Zordon?" Kim perked up in her seat and shifted to look down at Billy.

"Yeah," Billy smiled. "He came to me and told me I wasn't pathetic and that I was a good ranger. He also told me he wasn't disappointed in me and you told me you trusted me as a person and as a ranger. You reminded me that if it wasn't for my help, the team would've lost many times before. You helped me see that I did deserve to be a part of the team and that even if I wasn't a genius, you'd still be there for me. After that, I got Adrian."

"I knew she was important to you guys," Tori spoke up. "But I didn't realize she was so important that your fears factored around her."

"She's our baby sister," Rocky shrugged and the others echoed his sentiment. "She's one of the kindest people you could ever meet and she's always willing to help someone."

"She basically joined all of us together," Aisha said and she reached over to grab Kim's hand and squeeze it. "Despite the fact that Zordon was the one that brought us together, she was the one to make us feel welcomed."

"Ok," Zhane said. "The last two; Kim, Tommy, what were your fears?"

Kim and Tommy looked at each other. They had the feeling they knew what the other's fear was about. They communicated silently, as they always seem to do and Kim went first.

"My fear," she cleared her throat. "My fear was Firebird and being truly evil. It was about losing myself to Maligore and killing all my friends."

"What's Maligore?" Kira asked quietly. She could sense, as did the others, this was something that had truly scared Kim…more so than the others.

"When we were in our senior year," Tommy answered as he tightened his hold on Kim. "Kim was kidnapped by our villain at the time, Divatox (the second generation TURBOs winced at the name). She wanted to resurrect this evil being by the name of Maligore but she needed someone pure to do it. She had kidnapped a friend of Zordon and Alpha and had taken Kim as insurance that we'd hand over Lerigot."

"What we didn't know at the time," Tanya picked up. "Was that Kim was in Angel Grove, that was how she was kidnapped."

"After we found Lerigot," Tommy continued. "Divatox showed us that she had Kim and was willing to do a trade. When we got to the island where they were, Divatox was in a volcano because that's where Maligore was buried. She had Kim tied to rope which was hanging over the lava pit."

"Before we could rescue Kim," Billy picked up. "Divatox released Kim into the lava allowing her to be turned by Maligore."

"That's when Firebird was released," Kat finished as a shudder went through her. The look in Kim's eyes after she had come out of the pit was not something she would ever forget.

"Lerigot tried to break me out of the spell, but I fought it," Kim spoke and her voice was soft. "I was going to kill him but Tommy stopped me and helped break the spell over me, but not before I did damage to the others. My fear was that that there had to be a reason why Maligore chose me and also, that Tommy hadn't been able to break the spell and that I had killed everyone, including him."

"How'd you get past your fear?" Maya asked.

"Tommy," Kim smiled up at her boyfriend. "He's always saving me and this time was no different. He came to me and told me I wasn't evil and then he showed me situations where I did something really good; like helping Kelly with her gymnastics and quitting the club because Sha couldn't join…things like that. He told me that I had the purest heart out of all of us and that I taught them to have the heart and strength to keep going."

"And it's true," Jason looked at his little sister. She had been more through more shit than anyone of them and yet, she still fought. She got past it all and came out stronger.

"No offense," Angela J. said. "But that's really scary."

"None taken," Kim smiled. "I got over it and I'm better for it as that is no longer my greatest fear."

"Understandable," Andros said.

"What was your fear Tommy?" Leo asked.

"It more than likely had something to do with Kimberly," James said.

"You'd be right," Tommy said. "It was about Kim. My fear was actually really similar to hers; it was that I was evil again, but instead of killing everyone…" he paused; just remembering what his fear was sent a shudder through him. "…instead of killing everyone, it was only Kim. She was pleading for me to remember who I was, but I didn't, and I killed her. When I was done, the green ranger stood there and told me that only someone truly evil could've killed the person they loved in cold blood."

Everyone was quiet; to hear the greatest fears of their two strongest was humbling. Despite the fact that a few of them had been evil, they couldn't understand what it was like for the two of them. Even Kendrix, who had died before, felt awed. She, as well as other teams, had heard of what they had gone through and neither one of them had ever experienced anything like it; they'd never have their villain so focused on them, focused to the point of them almost dying every time.

"How'd you get past it?" Dana asked.

"Jason," Tommy said with a nod to his friend.

"What?" Jason was shocked.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded. "You gave me the kick I needed to realize it wasn't my fault; just like last time."

"You're welcome," Jason nodded with a smile.

"Hey guys," Aisha said suddenly. "When we were about to go through the doorways, did you hear anything?"

"You mean," Rocky looked at her with a smile, "a very familiar voice saying a very familiar advice?"

"Yeah," Aisha nodded.

"I did," Rocky nodded.

"Me too," Kim said and Billy and Tommy echoed her words.

"What did you guys hear?" Joey asked.

"Zordon," the six replied.

"You heard Zordon?" Justin

asked. "What did he say?"

"Yeah," Billy nodded. "He told us what he always did; "Good luck rangers and may the power protect you."."

"Our motto," Zack smiled.

"So," Krista asked. "You guys said this wasn't the first time you'd been to Phaedos, what was the first time like?"

The six looked at each before they smiled.

~…~

The rangers laughed as Rocky finished his story about what happened the first time they had gone to Phaedos. Billy shook his head and looked at Kim and Tommy.

"You know," he smiled. "It really doesn't surprise me the way you two handle your powers."

"Why do you say that Billy?" Kim asked.

"Kim," he smiled at her. "You have been doing things with your powers long before now; the way you used them to help Tommy against Prince Gasket and on Murianthesis; you defied all logic simply because we had lost the powers before. You used your powers in ways we never even thought of back then, so that's why the strength that the two of have with these powers doesn't surprise me."

"Cool," Ethan said.

"Anything else interesting happen on this quest?" Kai asked.

"Funny you should ask," Adam said. "We learned an interesting fact about Nerian."

"What?" Joey asked.

"Did you know that he was a Ninjetti?" Aisha asked.

"What?" the room echoed.

"What do you mean Aisha?" Melissa asked.

"Nerian was one of the very first Ninjetti," Kim answered. "He and five others had received the Ancient Power to help defend their planet, which was Phaedos way back then…

"But Nerian got greedy," Tommy picked up. "He wanted the Goddess' powers for himself." At their looks, he clarified. "The Ancient Power is power from a Goddess and Nerian loved how powerful he was…

"So much so," Billy continued, "that he started using his powers against the people and the other Ninjetti had no choice but to fight him. But things went from bad to worse; during a battle, Nerian used his powers and killed one of his teammates…

"By doing that," Rocky picked up, "he was able to gather the powers of that teammate." At the looks, he explained further. "His spirit animal was trapped inside of him and he was able to use its connection to get the power from the Ninjetti that he had killed…

"As hard as it was," Adam said, "the others managed to capture him, but they had a choice to make; they had to choose to either, both strip him of his powers and bind his soul, or to destroy him completely. They chose to destroy him."

"The quickest and truest way to truly kill a Ninjetti," Aisha picked up, "is to kill the spirit animal. Nerian's spirit animal chose death and when he died, both his animal and his powers were returned to the Goddess. After that, she said she would take back the powers, Ninjetti and hers, from the others to prevent something like that from happening again…

"She said that the powers would remain sealed," Kim continued, "until the true wielders…the ones that were truly worthy to hold them, came along. In all the centuries that have passed…all the people that have tried to gain them, there was only one set that did…

"Six teenagers on a mission to not only save their dying mentor," Tommy said, "but their planet as well, were the ones to find and gain the powers of the Ninjetti and now, ten years later, the same six were able to gain the powers of the Goddess…they were able to gain the Ancient Power."

"Wait," Kat said. "You guys are the only ones that have touched the Ninjetti since the very first Ninjetti rose all those centuries ago?"

"Yep," Adam nodded. "Amazing isn't it?"

"How do you guys know?" Cole asked.

"We know this," Rocky said, "because we told by Alexia; she was one of the very first Ninjetti."

"You met an original?" Trent asked.

"Yeah," Kim smiled. "I mean, she was a spirit, but yeah we did."

"So freaking cool," Dustin said.

They talked more, the ninjetti telling their friends how they felt on the quest. It soon turned to talk about their own battles as each team shared things they experienced. Melissa and James felt blessed to be a part of it and were proud of them. Soon after, the others noticed that the six had fallen asleep.

"They must be tired," Kira said as she watched them.

"I'd imagine," James said. "Everything they've been through with their quest, it took a lot out of them."

"Should we wake them?" TJ asked.

"Nah," Jason shook his head. "Let them sleep…they deserve it."

"I think we should all get some sleep," Angela Rawlins said and they all did just that.

~…~

The next morning, the rangers woke early; Melissa, Jason, Dana and Andros went to the basement to check on Trini while the others went to eat breakfast.

"Anyone seen Adam and the others?" Tanya asked as she came downstairs.

"They're not in their rooms?" Cassie asked.

"No," Tanya shook her head.

"They're outside," Conner said; he was standing in the living room looking out the window.

The other moved to look out, TJ opening the door and they stopped. Out on the lawn were the six ninjetti; they were dressed in the ninja robes and were practicing katas among other things. Some of the rangers moved to go to them, but they were stopped by Conner.

"Don't," he said.

"Why not?" Eric asked.

"I think they need time alone," Conner said. When they looked at him, he sighed. "Everything we've heard about the ninjetti tells us they're really close. Last night, hearing each other's fears shook them, I mean, I know it did me. I think what they're doing now is strengthening their bond and reassuring each other that they were fine."

Most of the rangers nodded while the others looked at him in shock; they hadn't thought of it like that. Ethan and the other DT members looked at him, shock on their faces, though they knew they shouldn't be; only Kira wasn't. She was looking at her boyfriend with a soft smile on her face.

"He's right," Jason said; he and the others had come back up just in time to hear Conner and he agreed with him. "Just leave them; I wasn't there and hearing what they went through hurt me. We can only imagine how they felt. The ninjetti are spirit bonded…they need this time alone."

"We can sit on the porch or something right?" Tori asked as she watched the six; the way they moved was incredible and heartwarming.

"I don't know about you guys," Jason smiled. "But I am definitely sitting outside."

The others looked at each other before moving outside. They all took up various positions around the yard, most on the porch, and watched the ninjetti as they reaffirmed their bond. It was the best and most peaceful start to a good day. Watching the ninjetti, the other rangers and the civilians, felt proud that they were a part of what they were seeing as the six showed just what friendship and teammates were…just what being a ranger was all about.

* * *

**A/N 2: **ok, one more chapter to go and then the epilogue. The battle is next; who will survive? Read and review and let me know what you guys think

Kila


	8. Ch 7: The Final Battle

**A/N: **so here it is; the long awaited chapter; like I said in LA: AG, I had a bit of writer's block, but now I'm over it. I do hope you guys like this. Major thanks to falcon4crane who wrote most of the battle scene; I just added a few details here and there…so thanks hon.

**Mae-E: **you'll have to wait until the end of the chapter to find out *smirks*

**Hewhoreaps: **don't want to give it away, but you're right; they do have more to lose…that's all I'm saying *grins*

**MaxKnight1010101: **thank you. I always hated how they had Conner, and Rocky, to be this dumb jock; I see, and will more than likely always portray, him the same way I do Rocky; I will show that there is more to them than being the comic relief.

Thanks to all my reviewers and everyone who has read this story. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving to those that celebrate it.

**O.P.D.: **Thursday 25th November, '10

* * *

_Last time on RAN:_

"_He's right," Jason said; he and the others had come back up just in time to hear Conner and he agreed with him. "Just leave them; I'm not there and hearing what they went through hurt me. We can only imagine how they felt. The ninjetti are spirit bonded…they need this time alone."_

"_We can sit on the porch or something right?" Tori asked as she watched the six; the way they moved was incredible and heartwarming._

"_I don't know about you guys," Jason smiled. "But I am definitely sitting outside."_

_The others looked at each other before moving outside. They all took up various positions around the yard, most on the porch, and watched the ninjetti as they reaffirmed their bond. It was the best and most peaceful start to a good day. Watching the ninjetti, the other rangers and the civilians, felt proud that they were a part of what they were seeing as the six showed just what friendship and teammates were…just what being a ranger was all about._

* * *

The rest of the day passed by relatively normal. Hayley and the DT teens had gone back to the café to check up on things and to tell Trent's dad and stepmom what was up. Melissa checked on Trini and told the others that she was doing fine and the others were outside fooling around.

After the ninjetti six had finished what they were doing, the others had joined them on the lawn; the boys had decided on an impromptu game of football while the girls stayed out of the way. Cole had taken to exploring the woods around Tommy's place and Danny had joined him.

The girls were talking when they saw a car pull up; Hayley and the others jumped out.

"How are things at the café?" Tanya asked.

"Good," Hayley smiled. "I just needed to check over the books and make sure they didn't really need help."

"But Anton and Elsa," Angela J. said, "assured her they knew what they doing."

"How are things here?" Krista asked.

"Trini's doing ok," Dana said. "Dr. Oliver checked her over. I mean, she's still unconscious, but that's to be expected."

"That's good," Trent nodded. "How's Jason holding up?"

"As well as can be expected," Billy answered. He had opted to sit with the girls.

"But he's not throwing anymore tantrums," Kat smiled.

"I think having Kim yell at him once was more than enough," Aisha chuckled.

"Definitely," Trent chuckled as the others laughed. "It'd be more than enough for me too."

"Hey," Ethan joked, "maybe we should sic her on Nerian? I bet he'd give up quickly."

"Hey!" Kim shouted and they laughed even more.

"Sic who on Nerian?" Rocky asked as he jogged over to them to grab the football.

"Kim," Kat answered with a smile.

Rocky paused and looked at them before looking at Kim with a thoughtful look on his face. "Hey, that's not a bad idea. Hey guys!" he grabbed the ball and turned to go back to the others.

"Oh no," Kim groaned as the others laughed even more. "Now see what you guys did."

"What's got Rocky so excited?" Jason asked as he came out the house, Melissa following him.

"We thought it'd be a good idea," Alyssa laughed, "and save us trouble at the same time, if we had Nerian really piss Kim off."

"You know," Jason looked at Kim before turning his gaze skyward, "that could work."

"See," Kat laughed, "even Jason agrees."

"Mom," Kim turned to Melissa, "please talk some sense into them."

"I don't know honey," Melissa said, "you do have quite a temper on you when you're riled up; all the guys here are terrified of it."

"Gee thanks mom," Kim scowled playfully, "some help you are."

"Love you too sweetie," Melissa laughed.

"We are not using my girlfriend like that," Tommy said as he and the other boys walked over to them.

"Thank you," Kim smiled at him, "finally someone that has a voice of reason."

"Besides," Tommy smiled, "I'll be the one that has to calm her down when she's done with him and that is not something I want."

"Traitor," Kim said and everyone laughed.

"Love you Beautiful," Tommy said.

"Shut up," Kim laughed. She knew they were teasing and she didn't mind; seeing her friends and family so happy was more than enough to make her happy as well. Even Trini's condition didn't deter her as she knew her friend and big sister would pull through. Zordon's rangers were anything but weak and when they put their minds to something, nothing could stand in their way. Their determination and strength was what made them such good rangers in the first place.

~…~

Nerian scowled as he replayed the scenes over and over; he had been sure his general would have been able to stop the rangers from gaining the Ancient Power, but he hadn't, instead, Kraken himself had been destroyed.

He watched the scene when the six materialized in front of him and his scowl darkened.

"How is it that those six were able to gain the powers of the Goddess?" he muttered to himself. He watched the clip again, noticing the easy way the six used their powers and worked between the others; he also noted how it easy it was for them to gain the upper hand on him. His brows furrowed and his eyes flashed before they widened slightly in disbelief.

"It cannot be!" he said. "They cannot be the one the Goddess prophesized about!"

But looking at them he knew it was true; they were the ones. He had admitted, though reluctantly, that they were different to the other rangers in the other dimension. The rangers in this time seemed stronger and more confident. And the six ninjetti were a lot more powerful than the other ninjettis.

"It will be difficult with them harnessing the powers of the Goddess," Nerian spoke after a while. He paused and a dark smirk adorned his face. "However, it will not stop me as I have not only faced the powers, but I have used them."

He turned away from the screen and headed down the hall towards the chambers.

~…~

"So what are we doing?" Damon asked. After the teasing had wound down, they had sat in silence, just enjoying the day.

"We're going to spend the next two days training," Aisha answered.

"We have to be better than we were if we want to defeat Nerian," Zack said.

"Comfortable?" Ethan raised an eyebrow at Conner.

Conner was leaning against Kim's legs, while Kira was tucked into his side. He tipped his head back on Kim's knees as she ran her hand through his hair.

"Very," he smiled. "So, more training?"

"Yes," Tommy said. "Like Zack, we need to be a hell of a lot better; Nerian is tougher than anyone we've ever faced."

"Do you think we can't defeat him?" Carter asked and everyone turned to look at Tommy.

"In all honesty," Tommy said after a few seconds of silence, "I think we shouldn't underestimate him. I'm not saying we can't beat him, but I'm not saying we can either. He's tough, more than likely the toughest villain we've ever faced. He's different from the others in that he doesn't make random attacks. He knows what he's doing."

"Tommy's right," Joey said. "Our powers might be more advanced than normal, but that still doesn't mean anything; he could still get the upper hand on us."

"We're the rangers," Carlos said and his voice was slightly confused.

"Yes we are," Kim nodded. "But that doesn't anything because so was Nerian. Not only was he a ranger, but he was also one of the first. He destroyed every single ranger team from Joey's timeline and managed to take out one of ours."

"From what we've seen and heard he's like a battle strategist," Aisha picked up. "He was able to destroy his former teammates and use his own animal to capture one of their powers. He is not to be taken lightly."

"But you guys were able to hurt him," Dustin said and the others nodded in agreement.

"I know," Adam nodded. "But I think that was only because he wasn't expecting us; he didn't think we'd actually succeed on our quest and that we gained the Ancient Power. Now that he knows, it's going to be a tough battle, because for one, Nerian _was _a ninjetti, so he knows how these powers work."

Seeing the looks on everyone else's faces, Jason sighed.

"I know you guys think we're popping your bubble so to speak," he said. "But, and no offense to you guys, we've been rangers longer than all of you, so we can say things like that. It's not because we have no faith in this team or because we believe Nerian is stronger than us, but because we know that we have to be realistic. We've seen and faced so many things that we can't treat him like any other villain…no matter how much we want to."

"Jason's right," Billy picked up and drew the attention of the others to him. "Our team has been through more than any other team here. Yes I know Kendrix died and that a few of you have had evil rangers, but that doesn't compare to all the crap we went through. We've been to places and we've seen and experienced things that no one else here has."

"Just look at Kim and Tommy," Tanya said. "You guys have heard of what they have been through and I know that none of you, not even me, could begin to imagine going through that. We're not trying to bring you guys down; we just want you to understand."

"_Do_ you understand?" Kat asked softly, "Because unless you do, we might as well give up now."

"They're right," Andros spoke up. "Guys, they're not saying that we can't have faith, what they're saying is, we shouldn't go in cocky and over confident."

The rangers were quiet as they allowed the words to sink in; standing at the door, Melissa and James looked at the group.

"Ok," Conner said as he moved to his feet to stand in front of the porch. "I agree with everything that was just said; we shouldn't be cocky, but we shouldn't be scared either. Should we be nervous? Yes, we should, but we are rangers and we can't let that stop us. The powers wouldn't have chosen us if we weren't able to handle it."

Once again, though they knew they shouldn't, the others stared at Conner in shock. Kim, however, smiled and moved to her feet and walked over to him. she reached to place a kiss on his cheek before turning back to the group.

"Now," she smiled. "Since all that's over with and you guys have hopefully understand where we're coming from, let's train. Here's how it goes; since the extra powers of the Dino team are the easiest and don't require much with the exception of Krista, they can do combat training with a few other teams. Ninja Storm can work on their powers, Zordon's boost should allow you guys to further tap into the elements.

"And since the ninjetti power is similar to the Ninja Storm's, we'll work with you guys but we'll also switch up and work with the other teams, so will you, so that they can learn to work around us if either one of us is using our power. Sounds good?"

"Yeah," the rangers all agreed.

"Let's get to it," Kim said.

~…~

Since Tommy's house was in walking distance of a lake, it made things easier on Tori, Billy and Adam as their powers were mainly water based.

"So what's going to happen?" Max asked.

"Those three have water based powers," Aisha said, "so they're going to work with them. Me and Rocky will work with Dustin while Tommy and Kim work with Shane for a while before we switch up and work with the rest of you guys."

"And you guys will train with each other," Billy said, "while working around our powers so that you could get used to them."

"Sounds like an idea," Mike said.

And with that said, the rangers started on their training. Tori, Billy and Adam worked near the water, sometimes in and on it as they manipulated it enough for them to walk on; Kim was showing her wind power on a smaller scale to Shane while he showed both her and Tommy what he could do; Aisha had her hands full as Rocky and Dustin had more fun in fooling around and using the earth to have mock duels, but she conceded to the fact that as long as they were using their powers, it was ok with her. The rest of the rangers paired up and sparred.

James sat on the back porch along with the other non-rangers as he watched his son and friends train; Melissa would sit with them, but would occasionally go down to check on Trini.

Hayley sat on the top step with a camcorder in her hand. She opened it and turned it on.

"What are you doing?" Angela W. asked.

"Taping them," Hayley said with a smile as she caught Rocky forming a dirt man and throwing it at Dustin.

"Why?" Angela F-R asked.

"This is the first time all the rangers are together," Hayley said. "I mean, with the exception of Merrick, who didn't want to leave Shayla, they're all together."

"That is true," Melissa nodded before she smiled when she saw Zack tackle Jason to the ground.

"Do you think they'll win?" Angela W. asked.

"I hope so," Hayley sighed. "I have faith in them, but what Kim and the others said are true; Nerian is powerful and they have reason to be cautious."

"I agree," James said. "I don't want to see my kids and their friends in this, but I know they have to do it and that they have the power to do so, but I still worry."

"We all do," Karone said. "But we also have to believe that they can do this."

"She's right," Melissa said. "Just trust in them."

"We do," Angela W. said, "though that doesn't make it any easier."

The others murmured their agreements before they turned quiet, watching the rangers train. They could see that even though Rocky and Dustin were fooling around, they did it in a way that allowed them to truly use their powers. About an hour later, the rangers called for a break.

"Man," Hunter breathed out. "That was exhausting."

"Yeah it was," Zhane nodded in agreement, "but it's going to be worth it."

"I agree with you there," Kai said.

The rangers headed to the porch where the others were sitting; they took up seats on the ground and various chairs and rocks around the yard, intent on relaxing for an hour or so before continuing.

Kim was walking with Aisha and Tori, the three girls talking about the similarities between the ninjetti and the ninja rangers. She stopped when she felt a breeze and with a small smile, she closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards.

Tommy, who was walking with Shane and Conner, saw her and motioned the two to keep going. Puzzled looks on their faces, they did as he asked. When everyone was sitting, save for he and Kim, Tommy let a mischievous smile come across his face. He walked up to Kim and aimed a roundhouse kick to her head.

Kim smiled as she felt the sunlight on her face and the breeze teasing her hair. She had never felt so at peace as she did in that moment. She brought her head back down and opened her eyes. She was about to take a step to the others when she not only saw the smiles on their faces but she felt Tommy behind her. She heard the shift in the air which let her know he moved his foot and she instinctively dropped to the ground in a split, drawing shocked gasps from most everyone. She brought one of her legs around and kicked out at Tommy's, who flipped out of the way. When he was a few feet from her, she looked up at him before moving to her feet.

"Not nice Handsome," Kim smiled at him.

"But I'm always nice Beautiful," Tommy teased.

"Uh huh," Kim laughed. "So, you want to do this?"

"Of course," Tommy nodded.

"Think you can handle me?" Kim asked with a cocky tilt to her voice, one that drew laughs from the others.

"Always," Tommy smiled.

"Let's go then," Kim said as she grabbed her hair and fixed it from the ponytail into a bun.

Tommy said nothing, just smiled and held his hands out in front of him. In a swirl of white and pink lights, a sword appeared; it was reminiscent to his green dagger, except like his uniform, it was white and pink.

Kim smiled as she called for her own sword. The moment it appeared in her hand, she dropped into position. Without a word, the two attacked each other. The clanging of their swords was the only noise in the backyard as everyone watched in on awe and silence at the two.

The sword play went on for another twenty minutes, neither one landing a serious blow on the other. The two came together, their swords crossing, before pushing the other way. When they landed, they looked at each other, before Kim smirked.

"Time to spice things up a bit," she said. She focused on her sword and it disappeared. Bringing her hands together in front of her, she kept her eyes on her boyfriend. A small wind started swirling around her hands, slowly building up; when it was the size of a soccer ball, she threw it at Tommy.

He ducked it and banished his sword as well before throwing one of his air-balls at her. When she was preoccupied with ducking that, he ran at her and threw a punch at her head.

Kim, already instinctively knowing when Tommy was close, ducked his punch and aimed a kick at him; it was an opening for a sparring session, one more intense than they had ever done.

"Holy shit!" Damon exclaimed as his eyes followed, or at least tried to, Kim and Tommy. He knew Kim could spar with Tommy from their first training session, but he was still shocked at the intensity the two were going.

~…~

Conner watched the two with a smile on his face; his eyes tracked Kim and his smile softened. Since the night she showed up, the two started getting close and he found himself talking to her all the time. They spent time walking along the lake or through town and he would tell things about his life, things that he hadn't told anyone else…even Kira. She knew about his fears and how he had truly felt when Trent had first shown up; he had opened about his parents' divorce and how he had felt, in turn, Kim had opened up about her own experience with her parents' divorce, her life with and without Tommy, her dad's abandonment and choosing her childhood dream over her ranger life and the two had bonded even further over that.

As he sat there and watched the two of them, he couldn't help but to feel blessed that he had met her. Talking to her had helped him understand his own feelings about Kira, being a ranger and a child of a broken home even more. She understood him at a level that no one else did, not even Eric, his twin brother, and he got the feeling that he understood her on the same level as well. He was right when he told Ethan and the others that he and Kim were so close it wouldn't surprise him if they _were_ siblings in a past life; he already thought of her like his sister now.

A warm feeling spread over Conner at that thought. His brows furrowed as the feeling intensified. He heard his Tyrannosaurus roaring and his eyes closed instinctively; when they did, he heard a screech and his eyes flew open. He saw that he was in a field, but before he could look around, he heard the cry again; he looked up and saw a pink bird flying around. _Kim. _He smiled when he saw it and the bird flew to land on him.

_Hello._

_**I'm Shalimar, Kimberly's crane.**_

_I'm Conner_

_**I know, just like I know you see her as your big sister, the same way she sees you as her younger brother. You are right Conner, you do know her on a level that not even Tommy does. Your similar childhoods has caused this bond between you two and it is very strong.**_

_I'm glad_

_**So am I; it was very nice to meet you Conner. Shiori says hi.**_

_Shiori?_

_**Kira's Pterodactyl.**_

He smiled, he couldn't help it.

_Thank you for meeting me._

_**It was my pleasure.**_

Shalimar screeched once more before she disappeared in a flash of pink and Conner's eyes flew open. His eyes fell on Kim once more and he smiled again.

~…~

Tommy and Kim exchanged smiles as they continued with their sparring. They were having fun as this was something they hadn't done in years. When they sparred, it was like everything disappeared, leaving only the two of them. They would lose themselves in it. They had no idea how long they sparred for, but they didn't mind.

Kim, who had landed a few feet away after she dodged a blow from Tommy, stopped suddenly and her hand flew to her heart with a gasp; she felt a sudden warmth before she heard Shalimar cry out. Within seconds, she had seen what Shalimar had done and the warmth grew.

"Beautiful?" Tommy called out in concern as he relaxed his stance and started towards her. "What's wrong?"

The others looked over at her as well and the ninjetti had already moved to their feet, the others following.

"Kim?" Tommy reached her first, no surprise, and he touched her arm. "What is it?"

"I'm fine," Kim smiled at him before she waved the others off.

"Kim," Tommy said, "you grabbed your chest…more specifically, your heart."

"I know," Kim said, "but it's nothing serious. I did it because I suddenly felt a warm feeling and then I heard Shalimar. I promise it was nothing bad; it's actually something good." She looked over at Conner and smiled; his eyes went slightly wide with recognition and he smiled back.

"You're sure?" Jason asked.

"Yes," Kim nodded. "What do you guys want to do now?"

"Break and continue training in like an hour or so," Taylor suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Eric nodded and the others agreed.

~…~

The rest of the time passed very quickly and before they knew it, it was time to face Nerian.

The rangers all gathered in the basement, along with the civilians.

"This is it," Joey said, "the final showdown."

"Are you guys ready?" James asked.

"As ready as we can be," Danny answered. "This battle will make or break this world; either we defeat Nerian or he defeats us."

"No pressure," Dustin sighed.

"How are you guys feeling?" Melissa asked.

"Terrified," Kim answered as she leaned against Tommy and the others echoed her statement.

"He's here," Hayley said and everyone turned to look at the screen; they saw Nerian standing a parking lot downtown, surrounded by Kronobots.

"We can't fight in town," Trent said. "We'll destroy everything if we do."

"So we take the fight out of town," Kai said. "He wants us gone so he'll agree."

"Are you guys going to morph first?" Angela W.

"No," Tommy shook his head. "If we do that, he will think we fear him or something and it would give him an upper hand."

"Are we ready for this?" Carter looked around at his friends and teammates.

"Yes," Eric nodded.

Kim walked over to where Jason was standing next to Trini's bed. She touched his arm as she stood next to him.

"I love you Trini," Jason said before he bent down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He stepped back and allowed Kim closer.

She leaned down to press a kiss on her big sister's cheek. "Stay safe Tri…we'll be back."

"Let's go then," Taylor nodded. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we get this over with."

"Good luck guys," Melissa smiled and watched as the rangers teleported out. She and the others turned to the screen, missing Trini's hand tighten slowly in a fist.

~…~

Nerian held a thoughtful look on his face as he walked through the palace. His Kronobots were coming along very well; he gave these set the power to emit beams from their chests, along with the regenerative ability, he also made them stronger than the others.

His thoughts turned to the rangers. _'It will not be as easy to destroy these set of rangers as the last ones. These ones are more powerful, especially those six. But no matter, I will destroy them and then I will destroy the Ninjetti and claim their powers for myself…then, I'll claim the world.'_

The three days passed with him in meditation, allowing his powers to rise to the surface level.

At the beginning of the third day, he came out of his meditation chamber and went to the room that held his robots. With a wave of his staff, they awakened and assembled in front of him.

"It is time to destroy the rangers and take their powers and this world for myself," he said.

The robots growled and Nerian smiled; with a wave of his staff, they all disappeared, only to reappear in downtown Reefside; thankfully, there was barely anyone around.

He knew the rangers would be aware of his presence and didn't have to wait long for them to show up; he was surprised to see them un-morphed. Reading the look in his eyes, Jason spoke before he could.

"This fight will happen," Jason said. "But it will not happen here."

"You want to fight us," Conner spoke, "you do it on our terms. We're taking the fight away from civilians."

"You want us," Damon smirked.

"Find us," Max finished and with that, the rangers teleported out.

Nerian growled in growing rage, but he did as was told; he summoned his robots and they all disappeared in flash of light.

~…~

The rangers teleported to just on the outskirts of town; in fact, it was the same place the original DT rangers had ended up after leaving Messogog's island.

"This is it," Cole muttered as they waited for Nerian to appear. "The final battle."

"The battle that will decide the fate of the entire universe," Kai nodded.

Nerian showed up with his Kronobots and the rangers fell into their fighting stance.

"It ends now," Kim said and everyone agreed.

Back in Reefside, Hayley and the others looked at the screen in trepidation.

"Good luck guys," they heard her mutter over their headsets. They looked at each other before nodding.

"Ready guys?" Jason called out and the original rangers smiled.

"Ready!" all the rangers echoed.

"It's MORPHIN' TIME!" Jason yelled.

"MASTODON!" Zack yelled.

"TYRANNOSAURUS!" Jason yelled.

"MIGHTY MORPHIN'!" Jason and Zack shouted.

"THE LYNX!"

"THE BEAR!"

"THE APE!"

"THE WOLF!"

"THE CRANE!"

"THE FALCON!"

"NINJETTI!" The six shouted.

"SHIFT INTO TURBO!" Kat, Tanya, Justin and Joey shouted.

"LET'S ROCKET!" Andros, Ashley, Carlos, TJ, Cassie and Zhane shouted.

"GO GALACTIC!" Leo, Kendrix, Maya, Damon and Kai shouted.

"MAGNA DEFENDER!" Mike shouted.

"LIGHTSPEED RESCUE!" Carter, Kelsey, Joel, Dana and Chad shouted.

"TITANIUM POWER!" Ryan shouted.

"TIME FOR, TIME FORCE!" Wes and Eric shouted.

"WILD ACCESS!" Cole, Alyssa, Taylor, Danny and Max shouted.

"NINJA STORM, RANGER FORM!" Shane, Tori and Dustin yelled.

"THUNDER STORM, RANGER FORM!" Hunter and Blake yelled.

"SAMURAI STORM, RANGER FORM!" Cam yelled.

"DINO THUNDER, POWER UP!" Conner, Kira and Ethan shouted.

"WHITE RANGER, DINO POWER!" Trent yelled.

"PINK RANGER, DINO POWER!" Krista yelled.

"BLACK RANGER, DINO POWER!" Angela yelled.

"POWER RANGERS!" All the rangers shouted as one.

"_Good luck my rangers and may the power protect you."_

The rangers all looked at each other.

"You guys heard that?" Wes asked.

"Yup," Zack nodded, a smile on his face as his mentor's words washed over him.

"For Zordon," Justin said.

"FOR ZORDON!" the rangers shouted as one.

"Let us begin," Nerian smiled evilly. "Kronobots attack!"

The battle was on; the rangers met the robots halfway and the two groups collided. They fought intensely, breaking into teams to tackle the Kronobots. It was natural that they gravitated to their own teammates; it was easier as they had fought with them and knew intimately how to work around them.

Since the battle was at the edge of town, they didn't have to worry about civilians getting caught in the crossfire; it was a relief for them, especially Conner, as they didn't want a repeat of last time.

Kim looked back at the rangers fighting with all they had; Zordon would've been proud to see his children coming together to fight this evil. His legacy was going strong with every kick, flip and punch that was delivered to the enemy. Shaking out of her thoughts, she flipped back, kicking the nearest Kronobot and watched as it fell into another one. Pulling out her blaster, she fired a shot and destroyed the two of them; it however, didn't seem to make much of a difference as they were still surrounded. But at least they could count two out.

Tommy watched as Kim blasted away the two Kronobots with a small smile before he turned his attention back to the four that surrounded him; ever since he joined the rangers, maybe even before as the evil green ranger, he always kept her in the corner of his eye. Delivering a lethal round house kick, he managed to destroy all four Kronobots. He once again looked around for Kim and spotted her; he saw she was doing good and was ready to get back into it when he was knocked on his butt by another K-bot. _'Man, these things just don't give up.' _

"Get your head into it bro!" Jason shouted at him as he himself kicked a robot away. He was surprised that Tommy had managed to get knocked on his ass so quickly and knew immediately he was thinking on Kim; he always seemed to do that. Any other time it would be sweet, but now they needed to focus; Trini had already been hurt by this guy and Nerian could not be allowed to win. He had to be destroyed…they had to destroy him; it was their duty as power rangers, they were the ones that had to win.

~…~

Back at the lab, Hayley and the others watched the screen and watched as each ranger fought with all they had. Most of them had fallen, but they had gotten right back up and had continued on. When Tommy fell, she winced and she heard Melissa let out a gasp.

"Don't worry," Hayley reassured her and everyone else, including herself, "he's not going to let himself be defeated." _'At least, I hope not.' _She had never seen Tommy take a fall like that and she wondered what had distracted him for that moment, but even as the thought completed itself, she knew; he was worried about Kim.

She watched as Eric and Wes struggled to break away from the robots surrounding them and saw the Lost Galaxy rangers swiftly make their way to the two; after helping Eric and Wes, the two stayed with the Galaxy team, working together on the robots that came at them. Looking at the others, Hayley saw that the most of them had paired up as well.

"It'd go faster that way," Karone voiced the thought she was thinking.

When Carter saw Leo and his team join Wes and Eric, he motioned for his team to make their way to Andros and the Space rangers. Andros glanced at them and gave a nod before he got back into it; the two teams fought side by side, dispatching the nearby Kronobots before they were surrounded again.

Without them even realizing it, the Wild Force team had ended up back to back with Kat, Tanya, Justin and Joey. They didn't mind and were extremely glad for the training sessions when they had learned how to work with the other teams; it was a learning experience, one that they used right now.

The Dino Thunder and Ninja Storm teams, though being used to working with each other, still found themselves outnumbered, even more so than the others. They were youngest teams, which meant that they had the least amount of experience in fighting, especially the Dino Thunder rangers as they had recently ended their own villain. But their lack of experience didn't stop them though; they fought strong and hard, succeeding in getting the job done.

As she looked at them, Hayley felt a surge of pride towards Conner; he had stepped up and became the leader that Tommy would be proud of. She knew Jason and the other reds felt the same way. She watched as he fought alongside the girls, making sure they didn't get knocked around too much. Her gaze shifted to the girls and she knew that Conner had no need to worry; the girls were handling themselves and looking at them, Hayley saw that it was as if Kim, Trini, Aisha, Kat and Tanya were present in them, and in a way, they were. The swirl of Yellow, Pink, Black and Blue was just amazing to watch.

"They're good," James commented.

"Yes there are," Hayley nodded.

"Hopefully more than enough to take Nerian out," Angela F-R said.

"Hopefully," Hayley muttered. "Come on guys."

~…~

As the fight wore on, the rangers were starting to feel the effects; they were falling more and more and were staying down longer, taking too long to get back to their feet. It was as if the Kronobots were drawing power from them, but that didn't stop them though. They continued fighting, using everything in their arsenal to destroy the robots.

Kim was fighting against three Kronobots and managed to destroy two before she was knocked down by the third. Cursing, she looked up at the remaining robot.

"Big mistake," she muttered and she concentrated on her powers; Alexia had told her she had control over all elements and she was going to use it. Focusing even more, she watched as a small wind picked up around her; the electricity from her powers crackled within the wind and a fireball grew in it. When it was big enough, she threw it at the robot, destroying it. The other ninjetti, seeing what she did, used their own powers to fight the robots. It seemed as if they had gained new strength.

~…~

Adam didn't know how much more he could take; he had seen Kim go down, but he couldn't make it her side. He realized he didn't have to when he saw her using her powers. He decided to do the same. He turned to Rocky and Dustin.

"Guys," He yelled out and when they looked at him, he continued. "Earth Storm."

Adam dropped to his knees, as did Rocky and Dustin, and he concentrated on his powers. A black glow surrounded his hands, and he released his powers. He looked up and watched as the earth ran in a split towards a few of the robots in a black cloud, red and yellow mixed between; they fell into the chasm and it closed up on the with an explosion.

He cheered inwardly, while Rocky and Dustin yelled in joy. He turned back to the rest of the robots with renewed vigor, but soon after, he was having a hard time.

Nerian joined the battle when he saw his robots were diminishing and fighting him was taking a toll on them. He had attacked Jason first as he was the closest, but Joey had joined. He had faced Nerian before and knew his style.

"Do you think you can defeat me?" Nerian laughed. "You couldn't even do it the last time. Maybe you're hoping you'll get to save her this time around…you won't."

"You won't win," Joey growled out as he fired a blast at the being only to curse when he dodged it.

"Stupid ranger," Nerian growled as he fired a blast at Joey, who didn't dodge it in time and was knocked down, "to think you're stronger than me."

Kim rushed to his side and helped him up.

"Thanks Kim," Joey said as he steadied himself. He watched as she nodded at him before turning away and blasted another Kronobot. _'She's getting stronger…but how is that possible?' _

He was knocked out of his thoughts by a beam of light; he fell to the ground and this time, he didn't get back up. He shifted slowly to the side, as his body was aching, and watched as the rangers fell, Kim included. She had rushed to Billy's side, after he had been hit by Nerian, to make sure he was ok, regardless of her own safety, and the two had been hit with another beam. It was a hard hit for Billy.

Tommy shifted to his knees and blew away the last Kronobot before falling backwards. Taking a deep breath, he struggled as he tried to move back to his knees; he couldn't, he only managed to roll over on his stomach. He was hurting like never before. Looking around, he saw that the other rangers were in pretty much the same shape. It wasn't supposed to end like this. All around was chaos and destruction; the rangers were scattered over the ground, all of them in pain, some unconscious from it while the others tried to not move too much. They had never faced anyone like Nerian or his Kronobots. The only good thing was the sight of the destroyed robots all over the ground.

~…~

Kim raised her head and looked around at her friends; she could see how hurt they were and the defeat in their eyes and she knew instinctively that they had lost their faith not only in themselves, but in their powers as well. Her gaze swung back around when she heard laughter; she looked up and saw Nerian standing there. Looking at him brought all the anger that was simmering just below the surface to the forefront. She would not let him win if it was the last thing she did. It was time to let go; deep inside of her, the volcano erupted.

"These are the ones that are supposed to destroy me?" Nerian laughed as he looked around at the multicolored suits on the ground. They were no different than the last set he had destroyed. Despite the power he had sensed from the pink ranger in the beginning and the fact that they had a ranger from his own dimension, it made no difference; he still came out on top. "Pathetic; I am powerful than most and I will take great pleasure in ridding the world of the Power Rangers once and for all." The last part was snarled out in glee.

His attack on the rangers had been swift; but they hadn't given up. They had done what they did best and that was fight. They were rangers and it was their duty to protect their planet and the people that lived there. They'd spent just over a decade defending it from villains like him, but even they had to admit that he was different from the others; he was stronger, faster and older. He had knowledge on his side and the power to back it up, but he would not win this fight; as long as there was still breath left in Zordon's rangers, they would fight.

"What are we going to do?" Aisha groaned from her spot a few feet from Kim. "He's too powerful….more powerful than anyone we've ever faced." She rolled to the side, moving closer to her spirit sister.

"We can't let him win," Kim said; though she had no idea what they were going to do. Despite being powerful, planning had never been her forte; that was more Jason and Tommy's style, but maybe now was the time for to step it up.

"There has to be something we can do," Jason said as he shifted to his knees with a groan; even after all those years of training, his body ached. He could only imagine what it would've felt like if he didn't have his powers; he could be hospitalized or worse, dead.

Kim looked over at him before her gaze found the others before settling on Tommy; she saw the passion in his eyes and the desperation to stop Nerian before he destroyed everything they stood for. The two locked gaze, their eyes communicating their love to each other as only they could do. They had tried everything and it still didn't seem like enough. The new powers had done major damage to him, but not enough to actually take him out and they knew that they were running out of options. Looking into Tommy's eyes once again, Kim knew he felt the same way she was feeling; something had to be done and it had to be done now. As she looked at him, a conversation with Billy came back to her.

_Flashback_

…_..the rangers laughed as Rocky finished his story about what happened the first time they had gone to Phaedos. Billy shook his head and looked at Kim and Tommy._

"_You know," he smiled. "It really doesn't surprise me the way you two handle your powers."_

"_Why do you say that Billy?" Kim asked._

"_Kim," he smiled at her. "You have been doing things with your powers long before now; the way you used them to help Tommy against Prince Gasket and on Murianthesis; you defied all logic simply because we had lost the powers before. You used your powers in ways we never even thought of back then, so that's why the strength that the two of have with these powers doesn't surprise me."_

_End flashback_

Suddenly she knew what to do; her eyes once again looked around and saw that most of the rangers had gotten to their knees, and the rest were rousing the others. She looked back at Tommy, gaining strength from the look in his eyes, before moving to her knees. She staggered to her feet, and took shaky steps toward Nerian, ignoring the call of her friends, holding her arm to her chest. This was her time; it was her chance to show Nerian what being one of Zordon's children meant…what being a ranger was all about.

"Does the pretty pink ranger think she has what it takes to defeat me?" Nerian taunted because he was confident in his knowledge that no mere ranger could defeat him. If they as a group couldn't, then one lone pink ranger definitely could not…it was impossible. "You're powerless and no match for me."

"A wise woman once said _'to those who possess the great power, anything is possible'_ and I believe that with everything in me," Kim took deep breaths as she stopped a slight distance away from him. She braced herself for what she had to do.

"Kim what are you doing?" Aisha cried out, hoping beyond hope her best friend wasn't about to do what she thought she was. It was suicide and it was something they couldn't allow to happen.

"Our powers were given to us to protect others," Kim spoke, ignoring her friends once more. "But they were also given to protect us; and that's what I'm going to do. I will protect our world and I will protect my friends…my family." She said nothing else as she dropped her hands to her sides and closed her eyes. When they opened, they were glowing pink; since her back was to the others, they couldn't see, but Nerian and he took a slight step backwards when he saw it.

"What?" Nerian asked; he could feel the power rolling off of her and it scared him a little as it was higher than it was before.

"You have no idea who you're messing with," Kim spoke and her voice was going slightly dark. She could feel the lava flowing through her and she could hear the screech of the bird; she called it…she welcomed it.

The others heard and the Ninjetti, along with Kat and Tanya, gasped when they recognized the tone.

"Oh no," Kat whispered. She looked at her friends before looking back at Kim; she had no doubt the brunette's eyes had shifted colors, she only hoped it was Shalimar; pink meant Shalimar was in control and red meant Firebird.

"Not again," Tanya said as she slowly moved to her feet.

Tommy stood up sooner than the rest and took a step towards his girlfriend.

"No Tommy," Kim said. "Stay back."

"Kim," Tommy started. "I can't…you can't expect me too."

"You have too," Kim said; she paused and her voice changed, alerting the rest of the original as to who they were dealing with. **"You must." **

She turned to looked at them and the rest of the rangers gasped out in shock when they saw the red glow to her eyes. **"You will not interfere." **

Before they could do anything, her eyes glowed brighter as a wind picked up around them; when it cleared the rangers were standing in a glass dome.

"No!" Tommy shouted as he pounded his fist on the glass.

~…~

"Kimberly," Hayley whispered as she felt her eyes fill with tears.

"What is she doing?" Angela W. cried.

"Please tell me she's not doing what I think she is?" Melissa whispered out as she stared at the young woman she called her daughter.

"She is," James nodded sadly; his heart was breaking not only for his son, but for the rest of the rangers and for themselves. If Kim didn't survive what she was about to do, it would devastate everyone, but for Tommy, it would kill him. He didn't think his son would survive the heartache.

Behind them, Trini groaned as her eyes fluttered open.

"Trini!" Karone exclaimed as she moved towards her bed.

"What happened?" Trini groaned out as she moved to sit up. "Is something happening with Kim?"

"How are you feeling?" Melissa asked.

"Ok," Trini said as she sat on the bed, slowly moving her legs to stand. "Now what is happening with Kim?"

"Come see," Hayley said as Angela F-R pulled up another chair, one with wheels.

Melissa and James helped Trini into it and pushed it towards the console. When Trini's eyes fell on the screen, she gasped.

"What are you doing sis?" she asked. Seconds later, she shook her head. "No…no…you can't be…you wouldn't."

But they knew she could and would.

~…~

Kim, or rather Firebird, turned back to Nerian once she was certain her friends and teammates were safe. She could feel the power coursing through her and she could sense the terror in Nerian; it made her smile. She knew she could defeat him; they wouldn't have gained the Goddess' powers if they were not meant to use them and to destroy him. She would show him why she was one of Zordon's chosen and why she was one of the two most powerful rangers he ever came across.

"**It's time to end this," **she said. She held her hands in front of her and a sword appeared; it was her Crane Wind Sword, except it was a dark shade of pink.

"I will defeat you," Nerian snarled as his staff transformed into a sword. "And I will take your powers."

"**You can try," **Kim chuckled. **"But I assure you, you won't."**

That was the only warning Nerian got before he found himself under attack. He wasn't able to defend himself and suffered damaging blows from the pink ranger. He found an opening and fired a beam at her, but she dodged it at the last second; she flipped out of the way and landed just a few feet from the dome containing her friends.

"**Missed me," **she smirked. **"I'd say you gotta kiss me, but Tommy, Brennan and Dragon would like that. Miss this." **She held out her hand and a small fireball grew until it was the size of a football. She threw it and when it was halfway to Nerian, she called on the wind to make the ball grow and it slammed into him, sending him flying back until he landed a few feet away. Behind her in the dome, the rangers cheered, but still looked on apprehensively.

"ENOUGH!" Nerian roared as he stood up and walked towards. "It is time to end this once and for all. You will be no match against my true form." As he walked, he started shifting; a helmet fell over his head, covering his entire face, spikes flew up from the side of his chest plate making it look slightly like wings, a cap appeared and his body was covered in armor with small spikes. He raised his sword and flew at Kim; the two engaged in battle.

It was fast, fierce and spectacular; Kim was able to keep up with him and parried each thrust of his blade with one of her own. It went on like that until Nerian got in a good blow at her; it sent her backwards and years of experience, as well as being taught by Tommy, allowed her to roll into the fall and getting back to her feet quickly.

She got back into it, taunting Nerian as she did so.

~…~

"What is she doing?" Kai asked as he watched her; he, like the others, was feeling helpless as his teammate fought by herself.

"She's goading him," Adam whispered, his eyes trained on his sister, following her every move.

"She's pushing him to his full powers," Billy added. "She wants him to lose control."

"Why?" Taylor cried out as she watched Kim take another blow before delivering one to Nerian.

"So that she can call on hers," Tommy whispered the answer, but they heard him loud and clear.

"But isn't she already using her full powers?" Tori asked as she leaned against Blake.

"No," Rocky shook his head as he kept his gaze on Kim. "She's getting there though."

"Firebird is in control, but so is Kim," Aisha said between breaths. "When all three combine, that's when she taps into her powers…all of them."

"And then it will be all over," Adam finished.

"But for who?" Maya questioned. "For him or for her?"

"Or for both?" Cam finished quietly. The rangers shared looks before turning their attention back to the battle.

~…~

Kim knew her friends were worried about her, but she couldn't do anything about it; she could feel through the spirit the fears from Tommy, Aisha, Rocky, Adam and Billy and it hurt her heart to do this to them, but she had to. Nerian had to go and she knew that she was the only one to do. She allowed her eyes to return to their doe-brown color and turned her full attention back to Nerian and hid a smirk; she could feel his power build and knew he was close to unleashing his full powers…she couldn't wait.

Nerian growled in rage as the pink ranger dodged another of his blows; _'how is she doing this? No one has been able to maintain with me and yet she is.' _

"Enough playing pink ranger," he yelled out as he landed away from her. "It's time you became of aware of how truly powerful I really am." With that, he held out his staff and called his powers, completely missing the triumphant smirk on Kim's face.

"That's it," Kim whispered as she banished her sword and stood watching him, "call on them."

The spikes on Nerian's armor grew even more and his helmet morphed slightly, giving him a more grotesque look.

"Perfect," Kim smiled as she shifted her own stance.

"You will lose," Nerian smirked at her.

"Prove it," Kim taunted and beckoned him to her; he fell for it.

He attacked, and she allowed him to get in a few blows. She turned tables on him and fought back, but he got the upper hand once more and a punch to her stomach sent her flying back, hitting the dome.

"As I said," Nerian gloated. "You pathetic rangers cannot stop me; especially not you pink ranger."

"I wouldn't count on that," Kim smiled as she moved to her feet. "Like_ I _said, you have no idea who you're messing with. You're strong, stronger than anyone we've ever faced, but that doesn't mean anything. I've seen your full power and now…now it's time you saw mine."

She closed her eyes and called on her powers…all of them. Nerian, the rangers and those back in Tommy's basement, watched as a pink and white glow surrounded Kim; a wind picked up around her, her hair whipping around her in it.

A loud angry screech broke the sound barrier and everyone looked to where it was coming from; surprised and awe-filled exclamations came from everyone as they watched a blood red bird come soaring through the skies.

"Firebird," Jason murmured as he looked at the bird and then his sister.

Another screech filled the air and they watched as a pink bird flew in from the other direction.

"Shalimar," Adam whispered reverently. He looked at Rocky before looking at the rest of the ninjetti; inside, they could feel their animals reacting in an agitated state. Their sister was planning something and they wanted to help her.

"What is she doing?" Kira asked as she watched Kim.

~…~

Kim smiled when she heard both her birds; she chanced a glance at Nerian and saw the fear that he tried to hide behind his confusion. He wouldn't know what hit him.

When the birds were close, she took a breath and pushed off into the air, just in time for Shalimar and Firebird to collide with her; an array of pink, red and white exploded brightly causing everyone, Nerian included, to shield their eyes.

When the light dimmed, the birds were gone, but Kim hovered in the air; she slowly descended, much like Tommy did when he was revealed as the white ranger, and stood in front of the dome facing Nerian. Everyone stared at her. Her uniform was no longer pink and white, but it was red, a deeper shade than the guys, and whereas her ninjetti had the crane and falcon, this uniform had the crane and the pterodactyl…Shalimar and Firebird.

"How is this possible?" Nerian was enraged; he could feel the power coming off of her and it was significantly greater than before. If he was honest, it was significantly greater than his own. If he concentrated, he could feel a faint but similar power and when his gaze shifted over the protected rangers, he pinpointed it to the white ninjetti.

"Like I told you," Kim grinned. "To those who possess the great power, anything is possible, and to Zordon's chosen ones, there is no limit to what we can do if we believe in us, in him and in his legacy. And I do. Your time is over Nerian; you will be destroyed once and for all."

~…~

"Whoa," Karone breathed out as she looked at the screen. "Look at the power level she's exuding."

"I always knew she was special," Melissa said even as her eyes filled with tears.

"That's my sis for you," Trini sniffed. "There's nothing stronger than the heart."

"They'll win this, won't they?" Angela W. stated.

"Yes," Angela F-R nodded. "They will."

~…~

Nerian's rage sparked and he attacked Kim without a word. He was incensed to know that she held such power…that she had been able to access hers to such an extent when he never could. But he would not let it deter him; he would destroy her and he would gain her powers for his own. He was wrong. Not a single attack he unleashed caused any damage to her.

Kim could feel the heady rush of her powers as they coursed through her; the combined powers of Firebird and Shalimar had her moving like the graceful birds they were. She dodged Nerian's blows and got in some of her own. She knew she could and would defeat him, just like she knew it would not be without a sacrifice.

The battle continued on and it was intense; each opponent was pulling out all the stops, determined to destroy the other. The battle was soon coming to a close.

Kim could see Nerian building up to a powerful attack and she knew what she had to do; she turned and cast a look at her friends over her shoulder, stopping briefly on the ninjetti and Conner's face before she paused at Tommy's. She gave him a small smile and turned back to the battle.

~…~

Inside of the dome, Tommy watched the love of his life and slight dread welled up in him slowly until it became despair; Brennan and Dragon were both crying out and he knew that something was going to happen.

"No," he shook his head. "No, please…don't do it Kim, stay with me."

The others looked at him, and the four ninjetti and Conner started to feel what he was feeling.

"Oh God," Conner gasped out and he faintly heard his Tyrannosaurus roaring loudly in pain.

"Kimberly," Aisha said as tears fell from her eyes; her hand moved to her heart and she could hear Lexa roaring out in anguish.

"God no," Rocky and Adam breathed through their suddenly tear-clogged throats; like Aisha, they too could hear Adrian and Jesse roaring out.

Billy said nothing; his eyes closed in resignation even as silent sobs shook his body. Like the others, he could feel exactly what his sister was going to do and he couldn't do anything about it; inside, Damien howled.

~…~

Kim smiled sadly beneath her helmet as her own eyes filled with tears, but it didn't stop her; she had to finish it.

She and Nerian fired beams at each other and fell back from the ripples of explosion.

"Your life is forfeit pink ranger," Nerian smirked in triumph as his powers collected around him.

"That may be," Kim whispered as she blinked her tears away, "but so is yours." She called her own powers and she started glowing dark pink while Nerian glowed black.

Kim tensed in anticipation and when she felt Nerian reach his maximum strength, she moved; using her ninja ability, she streaked towards him and when she stopped in front of him, Shalimar and Firebird came from her and cocooned him between their wings.

Nerian screamed in rage and fear when he felt the wings closing around him; he could feel the powers destroying him from within and knew that there was no way he would survive. In desperation, he sent out his attack at Kim, hoping to destroy her as well. Kim sent out her own attack and the two collided, surrounding both in the explosion.

At the last minute, Kim's uniform dissolved, leaving her in her street clothes and she turned to look at her friends. Her eyes sparkled with tears and she smiled at them.

"I love you guys," she whispered, "always and forever."

Her words were heard by everyone and shouts of "NO" echoed across the distance.

She turned from them and closed her eyes in determination. When the two attacks collided, the explosion knocked everyone back. Bright pink and white lights lit up the place, momentarily blinding them.

When the lights disappeared and the dust cleared, the rangers stayed on their knees in disbelief. The boys had tears in their eyes while the girls sobbed openly. The remaining ninjetti, though tears were streaming down their faces, made no sound as they stared at the scene in shock. It was broken by Tommy who threw his head back and let out an agonizing and heart-wrenching scream.

Nerian was gone…and so was Kimberly.

* * *

**A/N 2: **I bet most if not all of you want to kill me right now for that cliff hanger *grins*. You'll have to wait until next chapter to find out what really happened. But, not to ruffles feathers and big hint, there is a reason there was no warning at the beginning for character death.

**A/N 3: **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter is the last chapter. Read and review and tell me what you think…


	9. Ch 8: Moving On

A/N:

hey guys; so…this is the final chapter of Return of the Ancient Ninjetti. I know most of you were upset at the cliffhanger, but, it was needed…lol…sorry though…*smiles*…enjoy guys…

**Angelrei06: **great idea…but no…*smiles*

**MaxKnight1010101: **what are you psychic? Lol…you'll have to read the end to know what happened.

**Hewhoreaps: **I may…*grins*

**Mae-E: **hmmm…interesting idea *smiles*

* * *

_Last time on RAN;_

_When the lights disappeared and the dust cleared, the rangers stayed on their knees in disbelief. The boys had tears in their eyes while the girls sobbed openly. The remaining ninjetti, though tears were streaming down their faces, they made no sound as they stared at the scene in shock. It was broken by Tommy who threw his head back and let out an agonizing and heart-wrenching scream._

_Nerian was gone…and so was Kimberly._

* * *

While the rest of the rangers slowly moved to their feet, the rest of the ninjetti gathered around Tommy, who collapsed between them. The five held unto each other, their grief overwhelming them.

"Guys," Jason croaked out through his tears. "Come on."

The ninjetti didn't reply; it was if they were frozen in their grief and in a way, they were. Their connection to Kim had been abruptly severed and it was worse than when they were in high school and her power coin had been stolen; back then, it was painful as their connection was in its infancy, but now, the feeling transcended painful.

"Hayley," Cole raised his wrist to his mouth when he realized that the others couldn't get through to the ninjetti.

"_Yeah Cole?" Hayley had to clear her throat to speak through her tears._

"Please teleport the ninjetti back to base," Cole swallowed a few times as he made his request. "We'll follow."

"_Ok," Hayley said. "Teleporting now."_

The rangers watched as the ninjetti disappeared in beams of light and they followed after; they had won, but it was a hollow victory with a price they didn't expect.

~…~

When the beam cleared away, Melissa and James rushed to the five rangers. Melissa knelt in front of her son.

"Tommy?" she called softly as she reached out to cup his chin. He didn't reply and she tilted his chin to look at his face. When she saw his eyes, she couldn't help the gasp that left her; his eyes were broken…the emotion in them was pure pain.

The others teleported in and formed a circle around the five rangers. Conner stood off to the side, his eyes staring off into space, his face despondent.

"Conner?" Kira looked at her boyfriend; when he didn't respond, she reached out and touched his arm.

"What happened out there?" Trini questioned and the rangers turned to look at her in shock.

"Tri?" Jason pulled away from the others and hurried to his wife. "You're awake."

"I wish I was still sleeping," Trini said between tears. "What happened Jase?"

"Kim," Jason swallowed and looked away for a few seconds; his baby sister had disappeared and everything in him was responding to it. He needed her there…they all did. "She fought Nerian by herself and now she's gone…both of them are gone."

"But she's coming back right?" Trini looked at him even as she squeezed his hands between hers. "We're rangers, we can find some way to bring her back…she can't be gone." She paused as she looked around at the others. "We can bring her back can't we? This can't be the end?"

Her words drew even more tears from everyone, except the ninjetti who were still kneeling on the ground, holding on to each other.

"Conner?" Kira called her boyfriend's name once more, fear clouding it and drawing everyone's attention.

"What's wrong?" Krista asked as she wiped her tears.

"I c-can't…I can't feel her," Conner whispered, the pain in his voice evident for everyone to hear. His hand absently came up to rub his chest over his heart. "It feels…it feels empty…I can't feel her anymore…she's not there." He turned to look at the five ninjetti still on the floor before crumbling to his knees.

"Conner!" Kira yelled as she went down with him.

"Oh God," he managed out before he dissolved into tears; what they didn't know was that he had spirit bonded with Kim and was feeling the loss almost as much as the ninjetti and that sent everyone back into their despair. The sounds of their loss echoed through the basement.

~…~

Most of the rangers had taken a leave of absence from their jobs citing a death in their family, to spend the time in Reefside. Melissa had transferred to Reefside Memorial temporarily to be with her son and his friends.

The rangers were still trying to come to terms with what happened, but for five of them, they couldn't. Tommy, Aisha, Billy, Adam and Rocky couldn't escape their grief as easily as the others; they had been spirit bonded to Kim, so they felt her loss on a deeper level than the others and it showed in how they functioned. Conner had been spirit bonded to Kim as well, but since the connection wasn't near the level of Tommy and the others, though he had felt the loss, it was as strong, so he was able function better than them, but less than the others.

The days turned into weeks and then the weeks into months and it was now September; yet the loss was still as fresh as ever. However, it seemed as if five of the six were finally starting to cope; while the others seemed to getting out of their grief, Tommy seemed to be stuck in his…to no surprise to the others as they all knew of the intense connection between him and Kim. He barely responded when anyone spoke to him, and more often than not, the other ninjetti would be the same way. While all of the rangers understood, some were worried about them; one afternoon, their concerns were voiced. The DT, minus Kira and Conner, the NS and the WF team were sitting together in Tommy's front yard; Hayley was at her café, while Andros was in the basement, the ninjetti up the rooms with Jason, Trini, Zack and the other rangers sitting in the front room.

"What are we going to do?" Angela J. asked as she looked around at the rangers with her. "It's been months and they're still acting like robots; they're not talking to any of us and we only want to help."

"I know Ange," Krista smiled at her friend, "but everybody grieves differently. I've only know her a short time, but it still hurts."

"Krista's right," Trent said, "just imagine how they feel; they've known her since high school and longer."

"It has to hurt a hell of lot," Tori jumped in. "I mean, even Jason, Trini and Zack are no better; Jason just sits there with Trini most of the time before one of them starts crying."

"Well it's not going to bring her back," Angela scolded, "I'm sorry she's gone and I miss her too, but they need to let us help."

"And you think you sitting there scolding us is going to?" a voice behind them asked and they turned around and saw Aisha, Billy, Conner, Rocky, Adam and the rest of the rangers minus Tommy, coming through the door.

"I-I'm—

"You're what?" Adam cut her off. "Sorry? You don't know anything, so we'd appreciate if you kept yourself quiet."

"Guys," Ethan spoke up to help out his girlfriend. "She didn't mean anything."

"No, what she expects us to do is just move on with our lives as quick as possible," Rocky spoke and it was still weird for them to see the normally jokey guy so serious. "But what she doesn't understand, what none of you understand is that we can't."

"We were connected to Kim at more levels than any one of you is connected to anyone," Billy explained. "We were bonded emotionally and spiritually; Kim was our heart…the one that kept us together…kept us strong and to suddenly lose that connection, it feels like a piece of our soul is missing."

"You guys know we've been through a lot," Aisha continued as her gaze shifted past them to look out at the woods. "But I don't think you fully understand how close we are; Billy's right, all five of us bonded emotionally and spiritually. When Kim…when Kim did what she did, it severed our connection abruptly and now all we can feel is this huge, intense pain and empty feeling where she is supposed to be."

"So why is Conner acting like that?" Trent asked, but not before he cleared his throat; the raw emotion in Aisha's voice got to him.

"Because Conner bonded with Kim as well," Billy answered. "That day she and Tommy sparred, when she stopped because she felt a sudden warmth, it was Shalimar bonding to Conner."

Suddenly, Conner's words from that day months ago came back to them and they understood now why he said and reacted the way he did.

"To answer your question Angela," Rocky turned emotionless eyes towards her and she gasped. "Why we still act like it just happened is, because of our connection, we felt what Kim did and then we felt nothing; it was like our very hearts were ripped from our bodies."

"And so," Trini spoke up, "you could only imagine what Tommy is going through as the two of them bonded on all three levels; physically, emotionally and spiritually. It might not make sense to you why we, or rather them, still create less interaction with everyone else, but it is the only way to cope."

"I'm sorry," Angela J.'s eyes became downcast as she made her apology; she felt remorse coursing through her for the way she acted. "I was truly only trying to help."

"We know," Zack nodded, "but please, just leave them alone. You couldn't possibly understand their connections, so let them grieve."

Angela J. nodded as did the others and the ninjetti went back inside, leaving everyone else outside.

~…~

Upstairs in his bedroom, Tommy stood in front of his window; even though he was looking out, his eyes didn't see the woods or the lake. He heard the door open, but didn't turn; seconds later, he felt arms wrap around his waist and saw Aisha's head in the reflection, behind her, stood Rocky, Adam and Billy. He brought his hands up to hold hers.

"I miss her 'Sha," he said after a few minutes. "I'm so angry; at her, at myself, and at Nerian. She shouldn't have done what she did…"

"No she shouldn't have," Aisha nodded. "And I'm angry at her for it too." She paused as her eyes filled with tears once more as she thought on her fallen sister. "But even though I'm angry, I can't help but to be proud of her; what she did is one of the reasons she is who she is."

Tommy took a shuddering breath before he released it on a sob. "I want her back 'Sha…I want her in my arms." And he broke down.

Aisha eased him to the floor and turned him so he could bury his head into her chest; she held out her hand and the other three moved towards them. There, on the floor of Tommy and Kim's bedroom, the ninjetti mourned their fallen friend once more.

~…~

_One year later_

It's been almost a year since the final battle and almost a year since Kim was gone. Slowly things had gotten better; Tommy and the other ninjetti had been able to move past their grief and into acceptance. They spoke with their friends, sharing memories of Kim with those that didn't know her.

The other rangers had gone back to their own life, but they would make it a point to show up at Tommy's once every month to talk and reminisce. They had canceled their monthly meeting for this month and had decided to meet instead on the anniversary of the day Kim disappeared. Tommy's house would be filled once more with the rangers.

Now, the original rangers were at Hayley's preparing for the upcoming anniversary.

"Hey guys," Hayley smiled when she saw Trent, Krista and Angela J. walk in.

"Hey Hayley," they replied.

"Dr. O not here yet?" Trent asked as he looked around; he saw Jason and the other originals minus the ninjetti sitting over in the corner with Ethan, Kira and Conner.

"No," Hayley sighed sadly as she shook her head. "None of them are; I think it's hitting them hard because of the anniversary."

"Understandable," Krista nodded. "Are the others coming today or tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow and later today," Hayley replied as she wiped down the counter.

"Ok," Angela J. nodded. "We'll be with them."

"I'll bring you guys some drinks," Hayley suggested as she turned to prepare them.

Trent, Krista and Angela J. made their way over to the others.

"Hey guys," Zack smiled; in the last few months, the normally upbeat and cheerful guy had turned silent and slightly serious. His smiles were no longer as infectious and playful as they used to be.

"Hey," Trent said as he took a seat. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Trini replied as she looked around. "How are you guys?"

"We're good," Krista nodded.

"That's good," Tanya smiled; she was about to say something else when she saw Conner sit up suddenly. "Conner?"

The others looked at him.

"What's wrong?" Kira looked at her boyfriend.

"I…I don't know," Conner frowned even as his hand came up to his heart absently. "I feel…restless; my Rex feels restless…fidgety…"

The others exchanged looks before looking back at him.

"I feel as if something's going to happen in the next few days," Conner said.

"Something good or bad?" Kat asked.

"I don't know," Conner shook his head. "It doesn't feel bad…at least, I don't think so."

"God please don't let it be something bad," Trini prayed. "Not on that day…"

Jason looked at his wife and squeezed her hand; he felt exactly how she did and knew that with everyone thinking on Kim, for something bad to happen on that day, would push them over the edge. They wouldn't be able to handle it.

Joey was going to say something, but was interrupted by the arrival of the ninjetti, minus Tommy, the NS team and the WF team along with Eric and Wes.

"Hey guys," Taylor called out as they walked over.

"Hey," Kat answered.

"What's wrong?" Alyssa asked as she sat down, the others following her.

"Conner says he feels like something is going to happen," Ethan answered.

"What?" the others turned to look at him.

"I just have this weird feeling," Conner explained once again. "It's like my T-Rex is—

"Restless?" Rocky cut him off.

"Fidgety?" Adam asked.

"Anxious?" Billy added.

"It's like he's anticipating something," Aisha finished.

"Yeah," Conner looked at her before looking at the others. "How did you know?"

"Because," Rocky blew out a slow breath. "We feel it too."

"We've been feeling it since yesterday," Adam picked up. "It became stronger this morning."

"And I believe it will only get stronger," Billy finished with a frown.

"Do you know why this is happening?" Wes asked.

"No," Aisha sighed. "But I wish I did; I just hope it's not something bad."

"That's what I hope as well," Trini looked at her. "I don't think I can handle it if something happens on that day."

"Neither do I," Aisha agreed.

"I don't think anyone of us will," Tori said as she leaned against Blake. Despite it being almost a year, they still weren't over what happened to Kim.

"Let's just concentrate on the upcoming anniversary," Hunter suggested.

"Great idea," Hayley said as she walked over to the group.

~…~

The next three days passed really quickly; the rest of the rangers had shown up and now everyone was at Tommy's. Melissa and James had taken the day off from their jobs and that morning, Melissa, Hayley, Trini, Angela W. and Tanya had made a huge breakfast for everyone.

The morning passed by with the rangers talking quietly amongst each other, swapping stories as they always did; Tommy had made a quick appearance, but had left soon after as he couldn't bear talking about Kim as yet.

It was now late afternoon and most everyone was sitting on the front porch and around the yard. The ninjetti were sitting on the top steps, along with Conner, Kira, Tanya, Trini and Karone; the others had started up mini games between them.

"It's getting stronger," Conner muttered as he draped an arm around Kira.

"Yeah it is," Aisha nodded.

"I wish we knew what it meant," Rocky said. "I asked Jesse and he doesn't know."

"Neither does Adrian," Adam added.

"I have a feeling we'll know soon," Billy said even as his gaze drifted to the sky.

Hayley had just come out of the house and had taken a seat next to Billy when the alarms went off. Everyone froze before looking at each other.

"What the hell?" Eric asked and that seemed to break them out of their trance as they all rushed to the basements.

"Hayley, Andros," Danny looked at the two techs. "What is it? What's going?"

"Please don't say it's something monster or something," James sighed.

"It's not," Hayley answered even as her fingers flew across the keyboard.

"It's a power source," Billy spoke up as he looked at the screen and what they were doing.

"A very powerful one," Andros added. "And from the trajectory, I'd say it's headed straight for us; it's going to land in the backyard…right about now."

The words were barely out of his mouth before everyone rushed out the room; they got to the backyard just in time to see a bright light touch down a few feet away from them. They shielded their eyes, and moved them when the light cleared, only to gasp in shock; where the light was, a person now stood there. It was a girl, and she was wearing pink shorts, tennis shoes, and a white top; her hair was done in a braid and it ended just a few inches above her butt. She turned around and everyone froze when they saw who it was. A name slipped from the lips of most of them.

The ninjetti was the first to react and they rushed towards her; Aisha got there first and when they embraced, she heard Lexa roar out in joy. Adam, Billy and Rocky reached them next and when they joined the hug, they too heard their own animals.

The rest of the original rangers got out of their stupor and with shouts of joy, they ran to the group; their movements drew the others out of their shock and soon enough, everyone else had rushed towards them. To their surprise, Conner got there first and he pulled the girl into a hug, sighing when he heard his T-Rex roar out in triumph. Seconds later, the other rangers joined them, resulting in a group hug with the female in the middle.

~…~

Tommy sighed as he parked his jeep between Jason's and Rocky's car; he looked around at the other vehicles, taking in each one. He had left his friends earlier as he couldn't stand to be in the room, hearing them talk about Kim; even after all this time, it still hurt.

He opened his door and got out, pausing next to his jeep to lean against the side as he shifted his gaze skyward. For the past few days, both Brennan and Dragon have been fidgety and restless…almost like they were anticipating something; the only problem was, neither animal could say what they were waiting for as they didn't know.

He sighed once more and turned to go inside when he saw the beam of light touch down in the back; he froze for a few seconds before he shot off like bullet. Moving through his house, he made his way out back only to stop when he saw his friends and parents in what looked like group hug. He took a step forward only to freeze; inside of him, he heard the screech and roar of Brennan and Drago and knew instinctively who they were hugging.

The others seemed to sense he was there because they all turned to look at him with tear filled eyes and happy smiles. They parted and he saw her and his breath caught in his throat.

"Kimberly," he breathed out and his eyes hungrily took in her appearance; from her long caramel hair, which seemed a shade darker, her clothes, her body and her eyes…her doe-brown eyes that he had missed more than anything sparkled with joy and love.

Without even noticing it, he hurried down the steps and caught her in his arms as she flew into them.

"I missed you," Kim whispered against his neck and smiled as she felt his arms tighten around her waist.

The hug went on for a few more minutes before Tommy reluctantly pulled back; his hand came up to brush the loose strands of hair from her face. "You're really here?"

"Yes," Kim nodded with a smile even as her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at the man she loved more than anything. "I'm here Tommy, I'm real and I'm never leaving you again Handsome."

"Oh Beautiful," Tommy smiled at Kim before leaning down to capture her lips in a kiss; the moment they touched, he felt their bond and connection snap back into place.

Kim felt a surge of joy as the kiss went on as she too felt the connection and bond reaffirm itself. She heard Shalimar cry out and in her mind's eye she saw her and Brennan reuniting.

They pulled back from the kiss just in time for the rest of the ninjetti to join them in a hug, each delighting in the joyous sounds of their animals reuniting.

Around them, the others watched with happy smiles as the ninjetti was reformed before they too joined the hug. Nerian had tried to destroy them and had almost succeeded, but they proved once again that Zordon's children were stronger than they looked. And as they welcomed their fallen ranger back into their midst, the rangers knew that everything would be ok and that they were stronger and would be able to handle anything that was thrown at them...

...it was a strength that would be needed when a past villain sets his sight on one of them…

**To be continued…**

* * *

**A/N 2: **how did you guys like it? It's short, I know, but there is a reason. Please read the Author's Final Thoughts.


	10. Author's Final Thoughts

Hey guys...for those not familiar, this is my final thoughts on the story.

I truly didn't expect this story to be so liked by everyone, though I had hoped it would be and I'm glad it was *grins*

Now, to the ending; yes it is very vague and doesn't deal much with what truly happened to Kim, but don't worry, I have an idea about that:

I am working on a sequel to this story. It will be titled _Maligore's Daughter. _What if the Master in Mystic Force was actually Maligore? Let's say that in Someday, the TURBO rangers (Tommy, Kat, Tanya, Billy and Adam) hadn't destroyed him, but had resealed him instead? Hearing alarming news about the Underworld, Udonna calls an old friend, telling them the help of the former rangers is needed in Briarwood. How will the rangers react when Maligore breaks free and decides he wants his "child" back? Will they be able to stop him in time before he regains control over Kim or will they lose her to the side of evil for good?

I was thinking of writing this as a separate story, but after talking with my friend Llee, she encouraged me to do it as a sequel instead. So should I do it as a sequel or as a separate story? If you say no, then I will re-work that last scene of RAN and if you say yes, then I will do the same for MD that I did for RAN; the first chapter of MD will be the final scene of RAN with more details. So, what do you guys think? (Although I might just post it as a sequel anyways and hope for the best...Llee certainly wants me too *winks*)

Once again, thanks to everyone that has stuck with this story; to every reviewer and reader, I truly appreciate all of you…

Happy Holidays *smiles and waves*

Kila


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